


I want a starname too.

by Amrais



Series: A Family Name [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adoption, Child Abuse, Family, Foster Care, Gen, Harry Potter Next Generation, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Post-Hogwarts, Psychological Trauma, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-14 15:49:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 38,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8019901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amrais/pseuds/Amrais
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One night a child shows up at the flat that Scorpius and Albus are sharing, searching for Albus. The boy ran away from the children's home Albus works for. But Albus is not home, so Scorpius has to take care of the little one. Eventually the whole Malfoy family gets involved. Can they help the boy to overcome his past and give him the childhood he deserves?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The boy

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 3 of a Family Name series, but I don’t think it is really necessary to read part 1 and 2 first. These parts are about Scorpius and his family dealing with his depression and mainly self harm, it’s mentioned in this story from time to time, but it’s not really important for the plot...
> 
> English is not my first language, so I appreciate every comment that helps me to improve my grammar and spelling.  
> Please leave comments and/or kudos so I know if you liked it. Thank you

It was after 11 pm and Scorpius was directing the used wine glasses in the sink, when a loud knock on the door startled him. Had Elsa forgotten something? Opening the door in expectation to see his girlfriend he was surprised it was actually their landlady.  
"Good evening Mrs. Dooley, everything alright?"  
"Evening Mr. Malfoy, is Mr. Potter home?"  
"I'm afraid not. But can I take a message for him?" He offered. "You can take care of that young man here." She pulled a small child into sight, that had been hiding behind her broad back and that Scorpius had not noticed before. The boy was maybe six or seven years old and his small, fearful face was decorated with an black eye as well as a split lip. Scorpius looked at Mrs. Dooley for an explanation, why in Merlins name she would bring a small, battered child to his doorstep at this hour. "He was in the leaky cauldron asking for Mr. Potter" she said with a shrug, "at first I thought he meant Harry Potter, but then he told me the Potter he was looking for had a name starting with A, so I figured it was Albus Potter he wanted to see." Scorpius nodded and got down to his knees to be able to look the boy in the eyes properly. "So I assume you are one of his kids? From the Dumbledore Shelter?" He said softly, trying not to frighten the child, as he clearly looked intimidated by the sight of a stranger. "Why are you here,all alone?" The boy looked at the floor and after a long silence he whispered "I ran away"  
"So you ran away in the middle of the night, might have something to do with that black eye of yours?" The boy nodded. "Alright. Let's see, Albus's not here until tomorrow, but we can't have you wandering about the streets on your own, now can we? So come in, we'll figure something out." He stood up again and turned to the Landlady. "Thank you for bringing him up here, I'll handle it from here."  
"Good, I'm sure you will. Good night Mr. Malfoy, goodnight Sam." The boy let out a quiet mumble, that fairly resembled a good night."Good night Mrs. Dooley, and thanks again." She only waved her hand while turning around. "So, now come in already", the boy stiffened noticeable when Scorpius put a hand to his small shoulder to guide him in. Scorpius took his hand back. "So your name is Sam?"  
"Yes, Samuel Carter, Sir."  
"You don't have to call me Sir. Just Scorpius, please." The boy didn't respond. "Come on into the kitchen." Scorpius led the child into the kitchen and gestured him to sit down at the table. "Do you want some hot chocolate?" Sam nodded a bit more enthusiastically than before. He watched with big eyes as Scorpius was tapping the ingredients with his wand, and they mixed themselves together. Scorpius noted the boys bewildered expression, he seemed not very used to magic. Maybe he was a muggelborn, but the fact that he was able to find the leaky cauldron and was asking for Albus qualified him without a doubt as a wizard. "So," Scorpius began, as he placed the mug with the steaming content in front of the boy and seated himself across from him. "Now tell me, how did this happen?" He asked, pointing at Sams face. Sam was figeding uncomfortable on his chair.  
"The older kids are mean to me. But Sir, please don't tell them that I told you. I don't wanna be a snitch." He said quietly, eyes fixed at his mug. His left eye nearly was swollen shut. Scorpius had to do something about it.  
" It's not squealing if they hurt you like that. Why didn't you tell someone from the staff?"  
The boy shrugged. "They are always so busy,they tell us to get along."  
Scorpius sighed.  
"We are going to talk about that later, now let's see if I can't do anything for your bruises. Wait here." He commanded, afraid that Sam would run off, as soon as he turned his back on him. When he came back, the boy was still there. He placed the pot with the salve on the table.  
"This is arnica and moon Carrageen, it will help against the bruising. I'm going to apply it on your injuries, that's ok with you?" Scorpius asked softly, remembering how the boy had stiffened under his touch earlier. Sam nodded hesitantly. Scorpius opened the pot and applied the cream carefully to the eye and the lip.  
"Are you anywhere else hurt?"  
"My arms hurt."  
"Then take off your sweater." Reluctantly the boy took off his zip on jacket. His arms where dotted with little bruises where the older boys had kept him from moving while they beat him up.  
"So how did you get here? The shelter is at least 4 miles from here.  
"I took the underground."  
"The underground at night? Don't you know that it's dangerous? How old are you, by the way?"  
"I'm seven, Sir."  
"So you are muggelborn, if you know how to use the underground?"  
"Yes I am, Sir."  
"Didn't I tell you to call me Scorpius?"  
"I'm sorry." The boy looked down again and refused to look at Scorpius.  
"It's alright, just relax, kid. So tell me, since when do you live in the shelter? Not very long, huh?"  
"It's two weeks now."  
"Ok, and before that?"  
"In another home in London, but it wasn't magic. And before that I lived with my parents. But not anymore." He looked so sad that Scorpius didn't dared to ask more questions, whether his parents where dead or not, he would have to ask Albus about that.  
"Ok, I'm trying to reach Albus now. Let's see if there is something on the Telly you could watch in the meantime."  
"You have television?" Sam asked in awe.  
Scorpius smiled, "yes, we have. I tell you a secret; Albus is crazy about the soaps. But don't tell him that I told you, he thinks it's embarrassing"  
He setteled for a documentary on Seagulls as there was no children's programs at this kind of hour. Scorpius prepared the fireplace for a firecall to Albus who was spending the weekend with his girlfriend by the sea. The floo was blocked, but that was not really a surprise to Scorpius. So his only option was to send Albus their owl, but even if their tawny owl was strong, he wouldn't reach the coast before the morning.  
"I can't inform Albus about your appearance until tomorrow, so I would suggest you stay here for the night. But I have to inform the shelter that you are here." He told Sam, who was watching him nervously.  
Scorpius floocalled the shelter and this time he came through. He had to call out several times, before someone noticed him. The young man in charge jumped, when he saw Scorpius head sitting in the flames.  
"Good evening Mr., I am Scorpius Malfoy, I share a flat with Albus Potter who works in this shelter."  
The young man nodded in acknowledgment. "He is not here at the moment."  
"Yes, I know. I'm calling because, 30 minutes ago a child was brought to our flat, who wanted to see Albus. He ran away from the shelter tonight. His name is Samuel Carter."  
"What? He ran away? And he is at your flat?"  
"That's what I said. Listen, he was beaten up badly, and claimed that the older boys where doing that to him. What do you know about that?"  
"Nothing, that's the first time I hear something like this. Sam has not settled in yet. Just send him through the floo, I'll take care of it."  
"I will certainly not send him through the floo. You haven't even noticed that he was gone. He took the underground to get here. Do you now how dangerous that is, that late at night, for such a young child? And you haven't noticed that he was tormented by the older boys. So no, I'm not sending him trough and expose him to your carelessness! He stays here, until Albus is back and you find a solution to your lack of security." Scorpius had talked himself into a rage.  
"But Sir..." The other man tried to interrupt but Scorpius didn't let him, with a last angry glare he ended the call.  
Sam looked at him with a fearful expression.  
"I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at them." He reassured the child.  
"Now time for bed. You can sleep in Albus room, the bed is much more comfortable than the couch. Are you hungry?"  
Sam shook his head.  
"Well then, follow me."  
Silently Sam followed Scorpius trough the flat, and only nodded when Scorpius showed him the bathroom. In Albus room, Scorpius changed the sheets with a flick of his wand and shrinked one of Albus pajamas to fit the small boy. Then he gave him a toothbrush and transfigured a stool he could stand on to reach the washbasin.  
"You're all good here?"  
The boy nodded, eyes fixed on the floor. When Scorpius reached out to tousle through his hair, Sam shied away. Scorpius hand hung mid air.  
"It's ok, Sammy, I'm not going to hurt you. Now go to sleep, and call me if you need something, I'm in the room just next door. Good night."  
"Good night Sir, and thank you." This came out just above a whisper.  
Scorpius let the lights on, so the boy would find his way into the bathroom if he needed to.


	2. Broken glass

Scorpius was woken up by the sound of braking glass. At first he thought that maybe the cat had broken something, as Albus was away but then remembered his newest houseguest, Sammy. He got out of his bed and made his way to the kitchen where muffled sounds where coming from. The child sat on the floor in the dark, like most magic households they hadn't electricity, picking up the shreds of a broken glass, while tears where running down his face. Scorpius waved his wand to light the ceiling lamp and the candles.  
"Sammy? What are you doing, you'll hurt yourself." He said gently, the boy seemed so easy to upset. Sam looked up, and his face betrayed panic. His eyes blinking rapidly, due to the sudden brightness of the kitchen.  
"I'm so sorry, Sir. I'm sorry that I broke the glass." He whimpered.  
Scorpius didn't know how to react, as the boy pushed himself into the corner, trembling with fear. The mugs on the shelve began to rattle. If the boy wouldn't calm down, Scorpius knew they would explode soon. As Scorpius took a step closer to the boy, Sam threw his arm up to protect his face.  
"Sammy, it's alright, I'm not going to hit you, ok. Calm down, look at me." Scorpius said quietly, crouching in front of the child. Hesitantly Sam lowered his arm and glanced at Scorpius shyly.  
"There is nothing to worry about, sweetheart. Look!" He said "reparo" and pointed his wand at the broken glass, that repaired itself and flew back to the table.  
"See, nothing bad happened."  
The rattling of the dishes had quieted down. Out of thin air Scorpius conjured a handkerchief and gave it to Sam.  
"Now dry your eyes and come sit at the table. Are you thirsty?"  
The boy nodded. Scorpius fetched a new glass from the shelf, tapped it with his wand and murmured "Augamenti" and the glass was filled with water to the brim.  
"Common Sam, take a seat." He tried to coax him out of the corner.  
"I'm not mad at you, it was just a glass."  
Sam inched towards the table as if expecting the adult to change his mind suddenly. Scorpius waited patiently and kept his distance.  
"I'm gonna make tea, camomile will calm your nerves, maybe you will be able to sleep afterwards. Do you like camomile? With honey?"  
"I don't now, I never had it before." Sam answers in his timid voice.  
Scorpius made the tea without magic, he himself had to calm his nerves, witnessing that little boy so utterly afraid of him,had left him shaken too. He needed something to distract his mind. He set the mugs down at the table, watching the boy, as Samy tried to avoid eye contact.  
"Show me that eye, is it better?" The swelling was gone and the ugly violet had turned to a pale yellow. As he inspected the injury, he noticed for the first time that Sams eyes where in two different colors. The left on was a dark green whereas the right one was a deep blue.  
"Heterochromia iridum" Scorpius said.  
"My eyes?"  
"They are beautiful"  
"Really? My mum says that they are weird."  
Scorpius shook his head at this.  
"I think they are beautiful."  
Sam smiled for the first time.  
"Thank you." He breathed.  
Scorpius leaned back on his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. It was only in this moment he realized that he wore a T shirt, his scars on display. He saw Sams gaze liger at them. He suddenly felt very ashamed, this was nothing a child needed to see, especially such an emotionally disturbed one.  
"Well, I just go to get a shirt." He said embarrassed.  
"You don't have to." Sam said quietly, "it's ok. I've seen scars like this before." The boys voice sounded soft as if he was trying to comfort the adult in front of him. Scorpius thought briefly about the sudden roll change.  
Sam continued talking, "In the home I lived in before, there was a girl that cut herself. Some of the kids where doing this, actually. Sometimes it was kind of a dare. Look." He pushed up his sleeve, and turned his arm to show Scorpius some little dark spots on his forearm.  
Scorpius felt sick. He was certain he knew what they where. He asked anyway, his voice sounded a bit hoarsely. "Are those cigarette burns?"  
"Yes, they are." Sam said somewhat proudly. I could stand them the longest after Arthur, but he was much older than me. He said I was tough."  
"So at this home, you guys where taking turns at burning yourself with cigarettes, for a dare?"  
Sam nodded.  
"Oh Merlin" was all Scorpius could say. He could hardly tell Sam that hurting oneself on purpose was stupid, regarding his scarred arms. But this was different, wasn't it?  
When Sam spoke again he voiced what Scorpius had been thinking.  
"But it's different. Yours are more like Clair's, she said she was cutting herself because she was hurting so much on the inside that the pain on the outside was easier to handle."Scorpius nodded, he was shocked that this seven year old had a deeper understanding of self harm than most people he had met. It was really scary. He felt obliged to say something, so the boy would loose the impression that this was an adequate way to deal with difficult feelings.  
"Sammy," he began, "I hope you know that hurting yourself doesn't make the pain go away, you might think it helps for a second maybe it does but it comes back stronger than before. Promise me you'll will never hurt yourself again. It is bad to do that."  
Sam shook his head,"I don't do that anyway. These are different, we where just fooling around. When I'm upset I break stuff. I don't do it on purpose, it just happens."  
"That's your accidental magic. It tries to protect you when you feel threatened. That happens to every child that possesses magic." Scorpius explained.  
"Everyone lets things explode?" Sam asked surprised.  
"Well no, every magic is different. Accidental magic can also happen when you are happy, it happens when your emotions are very strong. It doesn't have to be so violent."  
"Oh." The boy said and looked back at his mug. "I only let things explode" he said sadly.  
"You seem to have a lot of pent up anger in you. I think that I'm more the passive aggressive type. My Dad loves to tell the story of my first outburst of accidental magic. I was five years old, and my parents where about to go out. Apparently I didn't want them to leave, as I turned my mums dress pink. She hates pink." Scorpius was glad to see a tiny, little smile in the corner of Sams mouth.  
The boy was yawning, it nearly was 5 am, they had been sitting in the kitchen for more than two hours.  
"What do you think, should we try if we can get some more sleep?" Scorpius asked.  
"Uh hu" Sammy said behind his hand, hiding a yawn.  
"Sweet dreams then."  
"You too, Scorpius"


	3. Back to the shelter

At seven o'clock Scorpius was ungently woken up by Albus, shaking him awake urgently.  
"I apparated home the moment I got your owl. What happened, where is Sammy?"  
Scorpius groaned, "No need to wake me like that, calm down. The boy's asleep in your room. Safe and sound, let him sleep. We both had a short night."  
"What happened?" Albus pressed again.  
"Go on, make us a strong cup of coffee, I'll tell you."  
Albus mumbled a protest but left the room. Scorpius sank back down in his pillow and closed his eyes for a moment before he got up and followed Albus in the kitchen.  
Scorpius was sitting at the kitchen table, inhaling the strong smell of the coffee Albus had placed in front of him. Albus himself leaned against the kitchen sink, his own cup of coffee in his hands.  
"Well?" he said with a hint of impatience in his voice.  
"Well what, Albus? You are acting as if I kidnapped him! Yesterday evening Mrs. Dooley knocked at the door, handing over the child. She said he walked into the leaky cauldron, looking for you. So I took him in. He had an black eye and a split lip, he told me the older kids where harassing him. He had taken the underground to come here. Can you imagine, a little boy, taking the underground at night? In London! What could have happened! I tried to reach you, but your floo was blocked, so I send you an owl. I informed the Shelter. They hadn't even noticed that he was gone, they're lucky he didn't get snatched away from the streets or ran into a police officer. That's the reason why I refused to send him back through the floo. They had done nothing to protect him from the older kids and they were clearly to preoccupied with other stuff then to look properly after the kids. I mean, how could he run away anyways? Don't you have wards there?"  
"Yes we do, I don't know how this could happen. It's good that you kept him here. I'll have to make sure that he will be safe there."  
A while nobody said a word.  
"Tell me about him, Albus. What had happen to the child?" Scorpius asked.  
"Why are you asking" Albus frowned.  
"Because, he seems to be a troubled child.He don't like to be touched and when he broke a glass he thought I was going to hit him. He was so afraid, his magic started to act up. Our dishes where about to explode."  
"I'm sorry I can't tell you. It's confidential."  
"Oh really?" he said ironically. "Then let me guess. Abused by his parents, that's why he don't live with them anymore? After that he came into care and there something happened that alarmed the Ministry. Accidental Magic I guess. Something exploded maybe?"  
"Yeah, that's sums it up. Good guess." Albus said sarcastically.  
"Wasn't that hard." He replied in the same clipped tone. Scorpius didn't knew why he felt so angry, it was not Albus fault that bad things had happened to Sam, and he knew that Albus was doing his best he could for the kids under his care. But it was not enough.  
"Why does it feel like we are starting a fight?"  
"Because we are."  
"But why?"  
Scorpius shrugged "Maybe because I'm tried and we both are worried and life is just not fair."  
Albus nodded to that. "So what we'll gonna do now?"  
"Let the boy sleep in, he needs it. I recorded Emmerdale for you. I'm going to lie down again. Wake me when the kid is up, I'm gonna make breakfast for us if you want."  
"Very much so. Thank you for recording and everything else."  
"You welcome." Scorpius padded back into his room and slipped under his covers again. Missy was purring right next to his ear, he stroked her soft fur a few times and the cat licked one time over his nose, before she closed her eyes tightly in pleasure. Scorpius was woken up to someone calling his name. Sammy stood by the door, his cheeks were burning bright red. Coyly he told the bedpost: "Mr Potter told me to wake you up."  
"Morning Sammy." Scorpius said friendly.  
"Good Morning, sir." the boy murmured, eyes on the floor. Nothing was left from the trust, Scorpius had felt was building between them, the night before.  
" Did you sleep well?"  
Sam nodded. Knowing that he wouldn't get another word out of the boy, he sighed.  
" you can watch a bit tv before breakfast, if you like. Let Albus help you, it doesn't work around here like you are used to, as you might have noticed we don't have electricity. For the muggel things to work, we have to channel the electricity from the muggels living nearby, it's very complicated." Sammy was hovering near the door, waiting to be told that he could leave.  
"Go tell Albus to choose something for you"  
Sam turned tail and disappeared. When Scorpius emerged from the bathroom, 2o minutes later, Sam sat on the couch in the living room. He had taken the very edge, sitting there stiff, with his hands on his knees, as if someone had told him to sit up straight. Scorpius chest ached to see the little boy so forlorn. A seven year old shouldn't be so quiet that he could easily be overlooked, he shouldn't sit on a couch like on a pew, he shouldn't be afraid to look someone in the eyes, he shouldn't be afraid to be hit. The Tv was dark.  
"Why didn't you ask Albus to turn it on?"  
Sam jerked, he turned around, alarmed at the question that indirectly pointed out his disobedience.  
"He was writing a letter, I didn't want to disturb him. I'm sorry." He explained quietly, his voice dying towards the end of the sentence.  
"It's alright Sammy, no need to apologize. Do you want to come to the kitchen with me? I'm going to make waffles for breakfast. You like them?" Sam nodded and followed Scorpius into the kitchen. They mostly ate in silence,Albus was thinking about what they could do to keep Sammy safe, Sam was fearing his punishment for running away, that Albus had told him would be writing lines and Scorpius was thinking about something he could do,to make this particular little boy smile only once. But he came up with nothing.  
When Albus had instructed Sammy what to do for flootraveling , Scorpius extended his Hand for Sam to shake.  
"It was nice to meet you Sam. Take care! " he was surprised when he was gifted with a shy smile.  
"Thank you for letting me stay here, Scorpius. You are very nice."  
Scorpius had a hard time to hide his emotion.  
"You are welcome kid. Send me an owl sometimes, ok?"  
Sam looked at Albus for approval, who nodded. "Sure you can send him an owl. Now, it's time to go. Take my hand! " and with that they stepped into the fireplace.  
Scorpius starred at the empty space where the two had disappeared. He had a bad feeling in his guts.


	4. A new Family

"I have great news about Sammy!" Albus called out the moment he stepped into the flat.  
"We are in the kitchen" a female voice called back, so Elsa was there too. Albus stuck his head into the kitchen where Scorpius was cooking something that smelled delicious and Elsa was browsing through one of Albus's psychology journals. "Have you read the article about fear? It would be interesting to compare these results with the theory about Boggards."  
Albus nodded, "yeah, I was thinking about that, when I have the time I will..." but there he was interrupted by Scorpius, who was not interested in a discussion about fear and Boggards that would last for hours.  
"You said something about news from Sammy?" He said curious.  
"Eh,yes," Albus said, a bit confused.  
"We found a family for him. Isn't that great? They're coming tomorrow to pick him up."  
"Yeah, that's great. Tell me about them"  
"A young family, he works at the daily prophet, she works at the new bookstore in Diagon Ally, they have two kids, one younger, one older then Sam. They are very nice."  
"And you are sure, that this family is the right one for Sam? I mean with two kids already..."  
"Scorp, it's better for him in a family, then in the shelter. He still has no friends there. And in a family he has the chance of parents and siblings."  
"Well, look at that," Elsa was smiling at Scorpius, "all mother hen here,Scorpius, aren't you?"  
"I'm just worried about him, that's all." He crossed his arms defiantly over his chest and glared at the two, who where giggling.  
Albus tilted his head "I think it's cute"  
"See, you would be a great dad, maybe you'll change your mind..."  
Elsa looked at Scorpius.  
"El, I don't want to discuss this now. Please?"  
Albus looked from Elsa who looked a bit disappointed, to Scorpius,who's face was closed of, like whenever something was said he didn't wanted to talk about.  
"What's the problem here?" Albus asked, to curious about what this conflict might be, to not stick his nose in.  
Elsa shook her head. "Ask him." A hint of resignation in her voice.  
Albus looked at Scorpius,eyebrow lifted in a questioning manner. Scorpius waved the question aside.  
"Let's eat. " he said in an annoyed tone.

Scorpius frowned at the letter a beautiful, nearly black owl had brought him earlier.It was the owl of the Jackson Family, the family that took Sammy in. Scorpius had hoped that the letters would begin to sound more upbeat, now that the boy had found a family, but even magic couldn't work wonders on emotional trauma. Only patience and love could. Still, Scorpius was concerned about Sam, the way he was longing for the muggle world seemed to express his homesickness. Scorpius had asked Albus what he was thinking about Sams vague yearning for things like soccer,digital watches and stamps. Albus had retorted that the boy needed time to adjust to his new life, he strictly was against Scorpius idea to take Sammy out to muggle London, telling him that it wouldn't help him to get used to the wizard world and his new family. Apparently they had some problems to get accustomed to each other. At a meeting with Albus, Mrs. Jackson complained about Sams inability to communicate with the family. He kept to himself and only came out of his room when he was bid to do so.  
Scorpius grabbed the letter and marched into Albus room, not bothering to knock before he teared the door open.  
"Albus read this!" he commanded. "They making him stay away from the baby because of his 'unpredictable temper', do you believe this? They can't do this. They making him feel like it is his fault and he is doing something wrong. He can't stay there, you have to get him. Now Albus!"  
"Merlin Scorpius, calm down. I can't take him away just like that." He was frowning at the letter, "but I will talk to them. I promise you, I'll go into this matter."  
"You have to do something about it and you have to do it fast, Albus. It's nearly three months he's been with them, and he's not happy. Every letter sounds sadder than the one before. They don't understand him, they don't understand his anxiety, they pressure him into being a cheerful, perfect little boy, disregarding his traumatic past. It doesn't work out!"  
"Scorpius, I'll take care of it. You have my word on it. Now, can you please leave me alone, I have to work through these filles, until you are not interested in writing this paper about schizophrenia for me, you are in the way."  
"But you'll take care of it?"  
"Yes I will. Don't worry, I'll talk to them tomorrow."

Scorpius came home late, work had been exhausting, their latest experiment on dragon burns had failed once again and he was frustrated. Maybe he would take a hot bath and maybe he would try to sneak a bit of firewhisky in the bathroom with him, Albus still didn't liked it when he was drinking and wasn't one to mince matters. But Albus was already home and waiting for him in the kitchen.  
"I made tea. Have a seat." he invited him.  
"Actually I was thinking about taking a nice,hot bath."  
"I talked to the Jacksons today, I thought you might be interested?"  
Instantly Scorpius took his usual seat at the table.  
"How'd it go?"  
"Well, they seemed alright. They admitted about some problems."  
"Like what?"  
"That Sam is a bit antisocial and refuses to interact with the family, they caught him stealing and hiding food and he has some anger issues."  
"Do they not feed him enough?"  
"No, they feed him alright. I think it probably has something to do with his time in a home. There always is a fight for food. In the muggle one at least. He doesn't eat it, he just hides it.I suggested therapy, but they don't think it's necessary. But they agreed to a Talk with me once a month, to see how things are going."  
Scorpius frowns. "Did you talk to him?"  
"Yes I did. You made quite an impression on this kid, he was talking about you the whole time. Don't worry Scorpius, Sam will be fine. It just takes a bit time, that's normal."  
"If you say so. You are the expert."  
Albus smiled at him.  
"You lost your heart to him, didn't you?"  
Scorpius blushed. "Maybe" he said vaguely. 

It was two months after that conversation in the kitchen, just after lunch and Scorpius was turning back to work, when his fireplace sprung to life. Albus head was sitting in the Fire, calling out for him.  
"Scorpius, something happened. I need you to come to St. Mungo, now!"  
Scorpius heartbeat speeded up instantly.  
"Who is it? What happened?"  
"It's Sammy, he was hit in the chest by a stunning spell."  
"What? Is he alive?" Scorpius was holding his breath.  
A stunning spell might not be able to kill a teenager or an adult, but a seven year old child that was only 45 pounds, was another question.  
"He's even conscious again. When he saw me, he asked about you, so I figured you should come. Currently he's sleeping, but he will wake up soon."  
"Ok, get out of the floo, I'm coming."  
Scorpius stepped into the shop and waved his shopkeeper over.  
" Juniper, I have to go to St. Mungo's. Can you handle the shop on your own?"  
"Sure, Scorpius." She made a concerned face, " I hope it's nothing serious?"  
"One of Albus kids was injured. I know the boy, so he asked me if I could come. You do know how to close the shop, do you?"  
"Yes I do. Go on, don't worry. I hope the kid will be alright."  
"Thank you,Juniper."

Albus was waiting for Scorpius the foyer, he looked a bit stressed out.  
"So tell me, how did that happen?"  
Albus shook his head.  
"Apparently Mrs. Jackson had an argument with him, it escalated,Sammys magic started to act up. Because he was standing next to the baby, Mrs. Jackson panicked and stunned him."  
"Great, I told you they weren't right for him. It could have killed him, Albus!"  
"Don't you think I know that?" Albus retorted upset.  
"What happens now, I hope they are not allowed near him. She has to be held accountable for what she did to him."  
"There already has been a investigation, she's been acquitted of any guilt, because her child was in danger."  
Scorpius said nothing to that, only continued to shake his head in disbelief and clenched his first.  
Then Albus opened the door to the room Sam was in.  
The child looked so small and fragile in the hospital bed, that Scorpius had to fight against a lump building in his throat. The white of the bedsheets accentuated the paleness of the little one, the freckles that were scattered over his face where standing out so sharp, that they seem like paint that someone had spattered by accident.  
Scorpius stroked back the curly, dark hair that stuck to Sams forehead. His skin felt cold and sweaty.  
"What have they done to you? How could she do that to a child?"  
He asked Albus, who was standing next to him. Albus stayed silent, he blamed himself for what had happened. Sam was his responsibility and he had let him down.  
Sam opened his eyes and smiled a weak smile as he saw Scorpius standing beside the bed.  
"Hi Scorpius" he slurred.  
Scorpius smiled back, "hey kiddo. How are you?"


	5. A place to stay

The next two days Albus and Scorpius where taking turns at Sammy’s bedside.  
“Does your chest still hurt?” A healer was questioning the child. Sam shook his head, but his paleness and the wince he was trying to hide every time he was moving told them otherwise.  
“You shouldn't lie to us” Scorpius said sternly “I'm an exceptional good liar, you know,it takes one to know one. And Albus over here, he might not be a good liar, but he has put up with me for nearly 15 years now and he has caught every one of my lies. So Sammy” he warned “you better tell the truth. Are you still hurting?”  
Intimidated, the boy starred up to Scorpius before he nodded hesitantly. “It's very important to tell someone if you are hurt. Especially doctors.” Scorpius used the muggle term to make Sammy understand the function of the healers. Despite his usually submissive behavior, this statement seemed to stir some defiance in Sam. “But my dad always said I shouldn't be a wimp and man up. Whining is for girls.”  
Albus and Scorpius exchanged a look. How to get thoughts like that out of the boys head when they had been beaten into him, time and time again?  
“Listen love,” Scorpius began “ this might be true for a little injury, like when you fall on the playground or something like that. But here you have to understand that you where nearly killed. You know, ignoring pain is not always brave and sometimes it is braver to admit that you are in pain and get some help than to suffer in silence. Trying to ignore great pain is just stupid.” And as an afterthought he added: “And as a boy you are allowed to cry too. There are no girl or boy categories,ok? We are all human beings and we all have the same right to feel and to cry.” He hoped that that explanation would stick with the boy and slowly they would be able to replace Sam’s dark, strictly classified world with a more open, happier one.  
Sam nodded sheepishly.  
Three days after the incident the healers agreed to let Sammy be discharged. After long, heated discussions Albus and Scorpius had finally decided they would take Sam in, at least for the two weeks the healers had ordered him to rest, Albus were worried that living in the shelter would only stress the boy out. So he got all papers ready they needed for temporary guardianship over the child. They decided that they would work alternately half days, so that one of them would always be around.  
Sammy was quartered into Albus room, as Albus didn't mind to sleep on the couch, that was entirely to short for Scorpius.  
Living with Sammy posed a challenge, after the incident with the stunning spell he seemed even shyer than before. He was flinching at every loud word or sound, shying away from every attempt to touch him. Most of the time he sat on the windowsill in Albus room, absentminded stroking Missy,who had taken an instant liking to the quiet lad. Meals were mostly taken in silence, sadness and despair creeping into every one of them. 

They had sat down for dinner, Scorpius, Albus and his girlfriend Athena and Sammy. Absentminded Sam was toying around with the candle that stood an arm length away from him. He moved his fingers through the flame, again and again.  
“Sam, you'll burn yourself. You should concentrate on eating.” Scorpius reminded him gently.Sam picked up his fork again. But a minute later he was toying with the candle again. This time he was testing how near he could get, before the heat would be to painful.  
Albus cleared his throat. “Sam, didn't Scorpius told you to stop messing around with that candle?”  
The boy looked down and nodded.  
The adults continued eating and talking. It was only out of the corner of his eye, that Scorpius saw Sam flinch violently and draw back his hand quickly.  
“Now you succeeded in burning your hand, have you?” he couldn't help but to sound annoyed. It wasn't the first time this had happened.Sam seemed drawn to fire. Scorpius snatched away the candle, ignoring the child's fearful eyes. This was getting exasperating and his patience was wearing thin.  
“Are you hurt?” He demanded to know.  
Sammy had gone pale and was hiding his injured hand behind his back, shaking his head.  
“Of course you are hurt. Show me your hand.” Scorpius said more softly. Albus was watching the scene before him, but he would not interfere.  
Sammy was shaking by now, and when Scorpius reached over the table for his hand, his glass exploded and pumpkinjuice was spilled everywhere.  
Now Albus decided to step in. He waved his wand to vanish the spilled juice and the glass shreds.  
“Sam, I think you should go to your room. Try to calm down a bit. Count to 50 or as far as you know. Do the breathing exercises I showed you, ok? Don't worry you are not in trouble, not for the broken glass anyway.” He said calmly.  
Sammy didn't need to be told twice and ran out of the kitchen. Athena discretely left the kitchen as well.  
Scorpius’ hands were shaking as he ran them through his hair.  
“What did I do wrong now, Albus?” Albus was more concerned about Scorpius then about Sammy. Sam would calm down,he would apologize and maybe one day he would come to understand that hands reaching for him not always meant hurt and pain, but comfort and gentleness too. But Scorpius was bad at dealing with negative emotions and now he was blaming himself for Sammy’s outburst of fear.  
“Scorpius, I'm worried, this might be too much for you.”  
“What are you saying? That I'm emotionally too unstable to care for a child?“  
„ I'm not saying that, you’re twisting my words. I'm saying that your expectations at yourself and Sam are too high.”  
“I just want him to trust me. It frustrates me to no end, that he doesn't.”  
“I think you are not realizing that he does?”  
Albus gaze lingered on Scorpius face, that expressed disbelief.  
“You are the person he trusts most around here. You're the only one he actually talks to. He sits next to you on the couch and outside he takes your hand.”  
“But he's still afraid of me. What was this all about? It was like he was doing it on purpose, burning himself, just to wind me up.”  
“He was testing you. He is getting attached to you and he's scared of that, so he tries to provoke you, to see how you would react.”  
“And for that, he needed to burn his hand?”  
“He knew this would hit close to home.”  
“Great, I’m not the best role model,huh?  
Albus pulled Scorpius into a hug.  
“Is that the reason why you don't want kids? You're doing great here, you know?”he asked when he let Scorpius go again.  
Scorpius was looking gobsmacked. “How the hell do you know about that? Has Elsa told you?”  
“No, I was just guessing.”  
“Damn it, you just know me to well. Scorpius growled.  
“Yeah, but I don't understand it, to be honest. You love kids, you are doing so well with Sammy, Elsa and you are talking about getting married, so where is the problem? “  
“Didn't you listen? I'm not a role model, how do I explain this” he was gesturing at his arms, “to any child of mine? And there is the risk of inheriting the depression.”  
“I know that, the likeliness lies by 20 percent, but you are suffering from a light form of depression, so the risk is not to high.”  
“Easy for you to say that.”  
“There is always the possibility of adoption” Albus pointed out.  
“We’ll see. Now we have to concentrate on Sam.”Scorpius puts an end to the conversation.

The second week was nearly over and Albus and Scorpius were searching frenetically for an place for Sam to stay. If they were not able to find an family where Sammy could stay, at least temporary, he had to go back in the shelter.They were tying to find a way were Sammy could stay with them. But the flat was too small for all three of them in the long run, their work too demanding to only work half days. It didn't work out. They were studying files with potential Forster parents until deep into the night. But the pile with the ones that they agreed were not suitable was growing.  
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Scorpius quoted tiredly.  
Albus looked at him. “That's it. Family.Your parents!”He said, suddenly very excited.  
Scorpius was confused “My parents? What do you mean?”  
“I mean” Albus explained slowly, as if Scorpius was stupid, “that we should ask your parents if they would take Sammy in.”  
“What? Why my parents? Why not yours?”  
Albus was waving this though aside.  
“Nah, they are to busy with James kids and mums job” he rolled his eyes, “and Lily's love drama every other week. That wouldn't be good for him.But your parents on the other hand, there’re perfect.”  
Scorpius looked skeptical.  
“Just think about it,Scorpius. They are alone,so they could concentrate on him. They are gentle and they have experience in raising a child.” He was looking a bit uncomfortable, “they have dealt with difficult situations in the past,” he tried to place it nicely.  
“Well thank you very much, Albus. But I think a depressed, self harming teenager is something different than an abused child.” Scorpius said a bit offended.  
Albus was grinning. “You know what I mean. They're open to therapy, they have the space and the money.”  
“You obviously are forgetting that they are not very regarded in the wizard world, how will they become approved Forster parents?”  
“Let me worry about that. Sam won't mind, either. Are you going to ask them? Please?”  
“We are going to ask them. I can't promise anything, but we can try. This idea might be not that bad.” Scorpius said thoughtfully.


	6. Starmaps

Draco put his teacup down and looked at the two boys in front of him. They wanted something, that much was obvious.  
“Well, spit it out, then.” He said amused.  
Albus puckered up his courage to tell the Malfoys why they had come.  
“Well as you know, I work at the Albus Dumbledore shelter, and..” Scorpius interrupted him.  
Mum, Dad, I told you about Sam. The boy who's been living with us the past two weeks?”  
“That poor little soul.How is he?” Astoria asked concerned.  
“Well physically he is alright, but he still is traumatized by all what happened.”  
“Is there anything we can do?” Scorpius mother asked softly.  
“Actually yes, there is something you could do. We are looking for a place for him to stay. A family. Otherwise he has to go back to the shelter and we both” he was pointing at himself and Albus, “we both don't want this for him. So we thought we would ask you, if you would take him in. At least until we find a fit family for him?” Scorpius first looked at his mother, then at his father. That request was followed by a long silence.  
“Why where you thinking about us?” Draco said after a while.  
“Because we want him to have a caring, loving family. Someone we can trust.“  
„We are honored, that you two think of us so trustworthy. But it's not as easy as this.” Draco said seriously  
Scorpius frowned “why not?”  
“There are many things we have to think of. From what you told us, I reckon he needs a lot of attention. I don't know if we could give him what he needs. We are both working and now we are not that young anymore.”  
“He needs a quiet and peaceful environment. He needs people that give him time, to learn to trust. That's the most important thing.” Albus tried to convince Mr. Malfoy. Astoria hadn't said anything yet. Scorpius looked at her. “Mum? What do you think?”  
“You're father is right Scorpius, there a lot of things we have to think of. A lot to organize. We will have to think about that” she said softly. “We are not saying no but we are not saying yes either, give us time till tomorrow, then we will decide.”  
“Fair enough.” Albus stood up. Then we’ll have dinner tomorrow. Our place?”  
Astoria smiled at him. “We’d love to, honey.”  
Scorpius stood up too and kissed his mothers cheek and shook his fathers hand. “Thank you for not saying no at least.” He told them.  
His parents smiled warmly at him. 

When the boys had left Draco looked over to his wife, “ You want him.” He stated matter- of -factly. A sly smile appeared on her face. “Yes I do, love. And you do too.”  
Draco nodded. “But there are still things we need to think of. What about work? What about education? And what if Scorpius gets bad again?”  
“Then we will be there for him,as we always were and always will be. As for our work, we both could do work from home. We could take different days off. Money will not be the problem. And once the new school year starts he could go to this school down the street. It looks nice.”Astoria was thinking out loud.  
“But it's a muggle school!” Draco protested.  
“Draco, he's a muggleborn. He's used to it.”  
“Oh, you're right.” He said sheepishly.  
“But do you really think we are the right ones for the lad? I mean, are you sure we can handle this?”  
“He deserves a chance of happiness.” Astoria smiled softly.  
Draco nodded. “I just mean I’m not sure if I can handle another hurting child. It ripped my heart out every time Scorpius was…” his voice gave up.  
Astoria was stroking his hand. “I know, I felt the same. But this will be different. He's not ill, like Scorpius, he was abused by the people who should have loved him, he never knew love so he has trust issues. He thinks he's all alone in this world. But I'm positive that we can change that. We can try. We can give him a home. And that our son has asked us to care for this child, it just shows that we have done something right.”  
“Yeah, you are right, honey, as always. At least we should try to make his life better and if it's just a little bit.”  
Astoria leaned over and whispered a rare “I love you” in Draco’s ear. 

Albus was cooking while Scorpius helped Sam to get dressed after his bath. Sam kept asking Scorpius about his parents. “Why you have such strange names, you and your dad? Draco.Scorpius. They're weird. Everyone has weird names here.Except Elsa, that's an normal name.” he kept on rambling.  
Scorpius laughed. “Well, my father and I are named after Star constellations. It's kind of an tradition in his family, in the Black family, my grandmothers side,family members were named after stars.”  
Sammy looked at him with big eyes.  
“That's so cool.” He breathed.  
Scorpius smiled at him fondly. “Close your eyes.”  
Sammy obeyed hesitantly, but he closed his eyes tightly.  
Scorpius muttered something, then he said: “ Now open them..”  
When Sam opened his eyes again, he saw that Scorpius had transfigured the boring tartan of his pyjama into a star map. With a rapt smile Sam looked down on himself.  
“Do you like it?” Scorpius asked softly. Sammy nodded and looked at him with sparkling eyes.  
“Ok, let's go in the kitchen, see if Albus has some sweets for you.”  
Sam had eaten before, because Astoria and Draco were coming late to dinner, so they could discuss what to do with Sam, while the boy was already in bed.

Albus raised his eyebrows when he saw that Sam had turned into a walking astronomy map.  
“That looks nice, honoring the stars tonight?”  
“He was very impressed when I told him that I'm not actually named after a nasty animal but after a star constellation.” Scorpius told Albus.  
“ I see. Didn’t kept Scorpius from being really bad at astronomy. It was his worst subject I think, he was always messing up his maps, the only thing he could locate was the moon.” Albus whispered in a stage voice to Sam, who started to giggle.  
“Don't start on this” Scorpius warned, “or I tell the boy just how bad you were at portions, and that’s while you were named after a great portions master.”  
“Eh, talking about scary people, have you warned Sam about your father?”  
Scorpius looked confused. “ You say my father is scary?”  
“Oh yes. All tall, with that face that screams bloody murder al the time.”  
“He only looks like that when he's around your dad. Besides, he's not half as scary as your mum.”  
Albus shrugged his shoulders “there you might be right.” He chuckles.  
The friendly banter was interrupted by the green glowing fire and the arrival of Scorpius parents. Astoria stepped graceful out of the fireplace, while Draco had to duck his head and awkwardly twist his body to get out of the small place. Sam watched with big eyes as Astoria kissed both Albus and Scorpius cheeks and the  
men shook hands. He was recoiling back until his back smacked the body of the kitchen counter. Scorpius hunkered down and waved him over. Slowly Sam creeped forward to Scorpius and held onto him like a sheet anchor. “What is it Sammy? You don't have to be afraid of my parents. They won't hurt you.” He whispered soothingly into the child's ear.  
“But he looks like a vampire.” Sam whispered back.  
Scorpius chuckled quietly.  
“I'm almost certain that he's not a vampire.” He said quietly. “Now be brave and say hello.”  
He stood up, but kept his hand on Sam’s shoulder to reassure him, while he pushed him gently in the direction of Astoria and Draco. Sammy held his hand out for Astoria to shake. “Good evening, mam” he said a little bit breathless. Then he turned to Draco “Good evening,Sir.” They both smiled at him. Draco gently shook his hand. “To you too,Sam. How are you?”  
Sam blushed in a bright red. “ I'm fine, Sir. How are you?” He said politely.  
“I'm fine my boy. Thank you.”  
Astoria bended over to Sam. “ Look, we have something for you. She opened her closed hand and there was sitting a small model of a broom, not bigger then a dragonfly. Suddenly it vibrated and flew from her hand, and around Sam’s head before it landed on his head.  
Albus laughed at his amazed expression. “You can touch it Sam, when you take it in your hand it will start from there and come back again. Try it!”  
Sam carefully picked the little toy out of his curly hair and watched it fascinated as it flew around the kitchen and landed on his outstretched hand again. He looked at Astoria with shiny eyes. “Thank you” he whispered. “I never…” he didn't finish the sentence, he dint wanted to cry in front of these strangers. Scorpius sensed his emotional distress. “ I think it's time for bed,Sam. Say good night to everyone.”  
Sammy did as he was told and he left the kitchen with his new toy carefully secured in the one hand while with the other hand he reached for Scorpius hand, as he was scared to pass by Draco, who stood by the door.

When Scorpius came back in the kitchen the others were seated and waiting for him.  
“He's a sweet little thing” Astoria said.  
“Well, sometimes.” Albus replied.  
„He thinks that you look like a vampire, dad.” Scorpius grinned.  
“Then the boy clearly has never seen a vampire.” Draco answered.  
“Although I must admit that you look like how muggles are imagine vampires to look like. Tall and pale and dressed all in black.”  
“I'm sorry if I’d scared the child.” Draco said serous.  
“It's alright, I was just kidding.”  
“So have you talked about our suggestion?” Albus asked curious.  
Astoria smiled her gentle smile at him. “Yes we have love. And we will try to give Sam a home where he can feel save.”  
“Thank you Mrs. And Mr. Malfoy.”  
Albus sounded relived.  
Scorpius smiled brightly at his parents.  
“Yeah, thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Fanfiction doesn't get me a masters degree, I have to work on other stuff for a while. Until October I will not be able to update, but this story will be updated in a week or two.  
> So if you liked it, please leave kudos and comments. I would love to know what you think about this story so far.  
> Thank you


	7. Moving in

Albus was meeting the Malfoys to show them Sam’s medical records and to go over a few questions. Scorpius who was not keen to look at these records again refused to come too. The photographs were made at the hospital, after Sam had been taken away from his parents, due to the report of a concerned sports teacher who had spotted suspicious bruises appearing on the boy again and again, it made Scorpius sick to look at them. So he stayed at their flat with Sam. He had taken on the task to explain, that the next day, Sam would have to leave them, to go and live with Scorpius parents. It hurt Scorpius when he saw the emotions of hurt and betrayal ghost over Sammy’s face. But the boy didn’t say anything, only nodded and quietly retreated to his room again. Scorpius hovered in front of the insistently closed door. He wished that Sam had screamed and yelled at him, he wished that he had been angry. Anger he could handle, the thought of the pain of rejection the boy must be feeling right know, not so much. He was feeling so damn guilty. But this was the best option they had. He had discussed it with Albus deep into every night since they had Astorias and Dracos agreement to the plan. He knew that Sam would be in good hands at his parent’s house, despite what everyone was thinking, Draco Malfoy was a caring, understanding father and Astoria Malfoy a gentle and loving Mother. They had always been supportive about everything that was going on in Scorpius live. The only accusation Scorpius could possibly make at his parents was overprotectiveness, but that was understandable. With a hurting, crying child behind that door, shutting himself off of any form of comfort Scorpius understood, maybe for the first time, how helpless his parents must have been feeling, dealing with his self-destructive moods.

The next day was a Friday and Scorpius was delaying their departure to his parents unreasonably. Sam wasn’t speaking with him anyways, only giving short, nonverbal answers when he was asked anything.  
“I think it’s time to go.” Albus was pressing.  
Scorpius nodded, there was nothing else to do. Sammy’s things where packed, breakfast had been passed in awkward silence and Scorpius had promised his co- workers that he would be at the lab at 2pm. Now it was 1pm.  
“Come on Sammy, take my hand. We are stepping into the fire. Don’t worry it wont burn you. You’ve seen us doing that before.You've done it before.” Scorpius explained to the daunted boy.  
Unwillingly Sam extended his hand for Scorpius to take.  
They arrived in the grand fireplace in the hall of Scorpius childhood home. Both of his parents were standing in the hallway.  
Astoria bended down to Sam. “Welcome Sammy. I´m glade that you are here. Come on, I show you the house.” She held her hand out for Sam to take. Reluctantly he took it, not daring to disobey her. Last they showed him Scorpius room, that was going to be his. Sam stared at the large room, with the big four post bed and the two big windows, overlooking the backyard garden.  
“That’s your room now, honey.” Astoria said expectantly, “do you like it?”  
Sammy nodded speechless. Scorpius placed Sam’s backpack on the chair by the desk. He pointed at the shelves that were filled with books. “These where mine, you can read them if you want. I think there are even some muggle ones.”  
Draco came in last and levitated Sam’s suitcase in the corner. “We can unpack later, now let’s have lunch.”  
Astoria took Sam’s hand again and guided him down to the living room. Scorpius was about to follow, when his father held him back.  
“Alright son?” he asked with narrowed eyes. Years after years of concern for Scorpius well being, had left them hyperaware of every mood and every emotional state Scorpius could possibly be in. Scorpius pushed down his annoyance about this question. He couldn’t blame his parents for worrying about him.  
“Yes, Dad, I’m alright. I just feel guilty that I have to abandon the kid.”  
“Don’t worry, we will take good care of him.”  
“I know, Dad, thanks again for doing this.”  
Draco nodded and they walked downstairs side by side.  
“Scorpius, are you going to eat with us?” his mother called from the kitchen.  
“No, I can’t. I’ve promised Juniper I would be at the shop at 2, so she can have her lunch too.”  
His mother came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a dishrag.  
Sammy followed her, unsure of what was expected from him.  
“Sammy, I have to go now. Please be good, listen to what they are saying. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you have any,” to that Draco and Astoria were nodding, “I’m coming for breakfast on Sunday.” He gave him a kiss on the forehead, pretending not to see the skittish expression of the child.  
He didn’t want to leave him, the boy was looking so vulnerable. Scorpius pulled himself together and stepped into the fireplace.  
Sam hated it to be with different people all the time, he didn’t know what they where expecting of him. And if he didn’t know that, he would make mistakes, and if he would make mistakes, well…  
He picked at his food, not really hungry and nervousness forming a knot in his stomach that was making him sick. Scorpius parents seemed nice enough, but for how long? How long would they speak nicely to him, asking him easy questions, using soft voices? When would they start yelling because he didn’t reply fast enough, because his manners weren’t good enough and his temper was too much to handle?  
“Aren’t you hungry Sam?” Astoria asked.  
He shook his head. Remembering that the Jacksons had hated it when he replied nonverbally he whispered “No Ma'am.”  
“You don’t have to call me Ma'am, Sweetheart, just Astoria please. Do you want to go to your room?”  
“Yes please.”  
“Alright, if you want company I’ll be in the Library, Draco will be in his study.”  
He nodded and quickly run up the stairs and fled into the safety of his room. He searched in his backpack for his Huckleberry Finn, it was an old and well loved book. He envied Huck, as he was leading his live away from every restriction. Tom Sawyer only was a spoiled school boy, but Huckleberry Finn was free and brave. He sat down at the bed to read. The bed was really comfortable and before he knew it he was asleep.  
He woke with a jolt, as someone nudged his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked in the pointed face of Draco Malfoy, who was kneeling beside the bed.  
He flinched and pushed himself upright. He wiped away the drool on his chin with his hand.  
“Sam, it’s nearly time for dinner. Come on downstairs.” Draco said.  
“I’m not hungry.” Sam tried, maybe he wouldn’t have to go to dinner and could sneak something out of the kitchen later.  
Draco shook his head. “You’ve barely eaten at lunch. So you have to come down for dinner. You have to eat at least something.”  
Sam didn’t want to argue and stumbled downstairs after Draco. They walked into the brightly lit kitchen, Astoria was cooking, assisted by the house-elf. Sam now was used to this creatures, the Jacksons and the shelter had some too. They had been introduced earlier, and so the elf just made a bow in Draco and Sammy’s direction. Draco pulled out a pack of cards.  
“Ever played exploding snap?”  
Sam shook his head.  
“Well, I explain it to you.”  
“Draco, please make sure, you not burning the table again, love.” Astoria said over her shoulder.  
Draco smiled slyly. They played three rounds until Astoria ordered her husband to put the cards away.  
After his stomach was filled with warm shepherd’s pie, Sammy could feel that he still was tiered. Trying to keep his eyes open he nearly felt asleep on the table.  
Astoria laughed “You seem quite tired from napping all day. Let’s get you to bed honey, shall we?”  
Sam nodded.  
“Good night Sam.” Draco said.  
“Good night Draco.” He replied shyly.  
“I’m coming up with you, show you were everything is.”  
Astoria guided him into the small bathroom, that was connected with his bedroom. She showed him were the towels were kept and handed him a new toothbrush. It was a dark blue, his favourite colour. He wondered if they knew that, because his bedcover and the curtains in his room were the same. Maybe he had told Scorpius, he couldn’t remember. He dressed himself in his pyjamas and crawled under the heavy blankets. Now it was October and it was starting to get chilly outside.  
Astoria didn’t come to tuck him in, she knew that he wouldn’t feel comfortable about that much physical contact just yet. She stood at the bedside, looking down at him.  
“Are you comfortable?”  
“Yes, very. Thank you.”  
“If you need something, our bedroom is just across the hall, don’t hesitate to wake us, ok?  
He nodded.  
“Good night, honey. Sweet dreams.”  
“You too.” He murmured, already half asleep.

In the middle of the night, Astoria was woken by the house-elf, gently shaking her shoulder.  
“Mistress, mistress the boy is crying.” The elf whispered. Astoria looked over to her husband, but Draco was soundly asleep. She got up and threw her dressing gown over her long, white nightgown. She took her wand with her, the lamps in the corridor sprang to life when she passed them. In front of the door to Sammy’s room she stopped and listened. She could hear faint crying sounds, muffled as if tried to be suppressed. She knocked softly and then entered the room. It was pitch black and she waved her wand to light the candles on the mantelpiece.  
Sam sat upright in the bed, his pillow on his knees that he had brought to his chest. He was staring at Astoria with wide eyes.  
“I..I’m sorry I woke you up.” He stammered.  
“It’s quite alright Sam. Tell me, what is wrong?”  
“I don’t know. I just woke up and it was so dark and I…” he didn’t finish his sentences.  
“Are you afraid of the dark?”  
Vigorously he shook his head. “No”  
She could tell he was trying to convince himself. “There is no shame in being afraid of the dark. It’s a primary instinct.”  
“My dad says it’s childish to be afraid of the dark.”  
“Everyone is afraid of the dark, some more than others.”  
They remained silence for a while. Then Astoria suddenly asked: “When was your Birthday again?”  
“3rd of July. Why?” Sam answered confused.  
“That’s right. A little cancer.” Astoria muttered. Then she walked over to the desk and wrote something on a piece of odd looking paper. With a quill. Then she crumbled the paper in her hand and blew on it. Little, sparkling points flew up to the celling and formed a pattern. It was a star constellation. Sam stared at it in awe.  
“That’s your birth constellation.” Astoria explained.  
The dots on the celling blinked just like real stars.  
“It’s beautiful. Thank you.”  
Astoria smiled softly at him. “Your welcome. Will you be able to sleep again?” She waved the candles out.  
The boy nodded, hardly able to turn his gaze away from his personal stars.  
“Thank you, Toria.”  
She smiled at the unfamiliar reduction of her name.  
“Sleep well, Sweetheart.”


	8. Time will tell

On Sunday Scorpius flooed into his parents’ house at ten. Both of them were in the kitchen, his mother was preparing breakfast while his father was reading his paper. But there was no sign of Sam.  
“Morning, Darling.” His mother leaned over to kiss him.  
Draco was hardly looking up from his paper.  
“Morning son.” He murmured.  
“Morning.” Scorpius replied shortly, “where is Sam?”  
“Did you not see him?” Astoria asked surprised.  
Scorpius frowned. “No, why should I’ve seen him?”  
“He was waiting for you at the stairs. He sits there since eight this morning.” His mother explained.  
“I didn’t see him.”  
“Maybe he has gone to his room. He doesn’t like to show his affection.”  
Scorpius nodded thoughtfully. “So how has he been, the last two days?”  
“The only thing the boy would need to be truly invisible, would be bloody Potters invisible cloak.” Draco said gravely from behind his paper.  
Astoria nodded to that. “Yes, he’s awfully quiet. But besides that, everything was fine.”  
Light steps where heard in the hallway. Astoria with her accurate hearing tilted her head.  
“Look who’s here” she said even before Sam appeared in the door.  
“Hey mate, there you are. I was wondering where you’d been hiding.” Scorpius smiled at the boy.  
Sam smiled back at him, tentatively.  
“Scorpius, Sam, would you please set the table? Draco, love, could you stop reading and put away your paper, please?”  
Draco and Scorpius both huffed in pretended annoyance, while Sam got to work wordlessly. Before Scorpius even got up from his chair Sam had put out everything, except the plaits that where too high on the shelve for him to reach.  
“You are my good boy.” Astoria whispered into his ear and his eyes lit up. Scorpius was surprised about this casual exchange, Sammy already seemed to trust her.  
Quite the opposite applied for Sam’s behaviour towards Draco. He obviously tried to stay out of his way and whenever he addressed him the poor boy drew back into himself. 

After breakfast Scorpius suggested that they would go in the backyard and play with the football that Scorpius had brought with him. Sam was thrilled by that, Draco not so much. Astoria watched from the kitchen window how her son explained to his father how football was played, she was amused about the slightly clueless expression on her husbands face. While shouts and cries were coming from outside Astoria sat at the kitchen table, reading a magazine. She was pleased with the bit of live Sam brought into their life. It was nice to have a child in the house again. Now they had only to work on making him behaving truly like a child. This wasn’t an easy task, but she was confident that they would be successful. He was not damaged beyond repair. She saw it in the way he trusted in Scorpius, she saw it in the way he cheered about the goal he had made and the way he smiled shyly at her. He now was a part of her family, he only didn’t realise it yet.  
When they came in again, all three of them with red faces and sparkling eyes, Astoria scolded them for spreading mud everywhere, Sam looked instantly frighten. But Scorpius just laughed and vanished the dirt with a flick of his wand.  
As Sam had recovered from his scare he tucked at Scorpius sleeve.  
“I want to show you something upstairs.” He whispered.  
“Ok, now I’m curious.” Scorpius said and followed Sam upstairs.  
“You have to wait outside” Sammy ordered mysteriously.  
Scorpius nodded obediently. “I’ll wait.” He had an inkling what this was all about, but he would not wreck Sammy’s excitement by telling him, that his mothers charmed celling’s weren’t exactly new to him.  
“Now you can come in.” Sam stuck his head out of the door.  
He had drawn the curtains over the windows so the room would be dark and the sparkling stars on the ceiling clearly visible.  
“Wow, they are beautiful. Cancer, right?”  
“Yes.” Sam chirped excited. “Toria did this.”  
Scorpius lifted an eyebrow, his mother allowed someone to call her something other than her full name? She really must like the little one, he thought.  
He sat down on the bed. “Now Sammy, tell me, do you like it here?” he asked carefully.  
Suddenly Sam’s excitement was gone. He shrugged his shoulders.  
“With words please, Sam.” Scorpius reminded him softly.  
“Sure. They are nice.”  
“But?”  
“Maybe they don’t want me to stay.” He said sadly.  
“Why would you think that?”  
“Nobody ever wants me to stay.”  
“That’s not true, Sam, if I hadn’t had to go back to work, I would have loved to share our flat with you.”  
“But you didn’t and Albus didn’t either, so what does it matter.” Sam said stubbornly.  
‘He’s a child’ Scorpius had to remain himself, ‘he doesn’t understand’. For Scorpius, his shop was not only a business to gain money from, but all he ever wished for. Something he had worked hard for, something that gained him a little bit of the respect he so long had craved for. He couldn’t give it up that easily. He knew that his parents would not just abandon the child. But there was no point in telling that to Sam, he wouldn’t believe him anyways. They would have to leave it to time, to heal these wounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to know what you are thinking of this fan fic, so please review.  
> Thank you


	9. Chocolate ice cream

“Merlin, you are freezing” Astoria said, as she called Sam inside to wash his hands before dinner. “We need to buy you warmer cloths. Draco, are you free this weekend? To go to Diagon Alley.”  
Draco nodded. “Sure, I have to buy some potions anyways.”  
“We are going to visit Scorpius in his shop.” Astoria promised Sam.  
After dinner, all three of them settled in the library. This was Sam’s favourite room in the house, after his own room. He loved the floor-to-ceiling shelves, that where made out of dark wood. Nearly completely filled with books of all sorts. A leather sofa was placed in the middle of the room, as well as a low coffee table. Several cosy armchairs where placed in different positions in the large room. Sam particularly liked the big red one right in front of the fire. He could completely snuggle into it. All three of them where reading. Now that there was no TV, Sam had discovered that his love for books was going beyond Mark Twain, he was reading whatever he could get his hands on, both muggle and wizard authors could create such beautiful, fascinating worlds, he had never known of. He especially liked the adventure stories. Currently was reading a story about a boy who was trying to find a particular gemstone with great powers, to save his mother from a deadly illness. From Draco he had learned that the Goblin war, that where described in the book, had really taken place. This was really exciting. But now he was not reading, he was starring in the dancing flames of the ingle. This was so peaceful, not at all like the house of his own family, where everything fitted perfectly together. But there he never would be allowed to put his feet up on the furniture. Here, they didn’t care, as long as he sat correctly while he was eating. Astoria too, always had her feet tugged underneath her. Nobody here was yelling at him, nobody was telling him that he was stupid and a burden. It hurt to think about that. He quickly tried to think of something different, but he couldn’t, his mind dwelled on the suffocating feeling that he was unwanted by his family. He missed them. Yes, his father had a temper, but so did he. Not everything had been bad, he remembered a day in the zoo, where at the end his dad had carried him to the car, he remembered when his mother had mad him breakfast and kissed his hair before she had dropped him of at school. All this good memories where holding a special place in his mind, more prominent than the bad memories and so much more hurtful. The bad memories where just a blur, more instinctive, only particular horrible scenes were standing out. Scenes were he could remember every word, every feeling. What he couldn’t remember was the pain. He knew it must had been there, but he only could remember the emotional pain, not the physical one. He could recall the fear he felt when he knew he was about to get beaten, a cold heavy weight in his stomach, a sensation that made his skin sizzle. He still felt it occasionally. Logically he knew that the Malfoys would not hit him, at least that was what they where saying, but there where occasions when raw feelings where taking over his mind.  
And he could remember how he had felt afterwards, shame and hate burning in his whole body. So much hate, that he wanted to kill, either his father or himself, or his mother who had been standing there, watching…but the shame locked him down, dammed him into motionlessness. He remembered the mirror he had starred into. Sometimes for hours, watching the bruises form strange patterns on his skin. But this where not the first things he remembered when he was thinking about his parents. He closed his eyes, to banish the loneliness that washed over him. After only minutes, where he tried to concentrate on the heat on his face from the fire, he drifted of to sleep.  
He woke up in his bed. They must have carried him upstairs. He would see Scorpius today, that cheered him up, Scorpius treated him more like a mate, then as a child. He liked that.

Astoria showed him a deep blue wool cloth. “Would you like this for your winter cloak?” she asked excited, knowing that this was exactly the colour he liked best. He nodded hesitantly.  
“Isn’t it very expensive?” he asked doubtfully. He had seen the price before the shopkeeper had lifted the bolt down. It was higher than the other fabrics.  
“Don’t worry about that, Sweetheart.” Astoria said with a small smile.  
His mother always had complained about the costs of new cloths. She paid for the cloth and left the shop. When they walked into the busy street Sam automatically took her hand. He missed the surprised expression the shone in her eyes a second. It was the first time he reached out for her on his own. She smiled warmly. When Scorpius apothecary came into sight he let go of her hand and ran ahead. Only to feel awkwardly shy, when he opened the door and not only saw Scorpius and Draco, but also a young woman, standing behind the counter.  
“Hey Sam, great to see you.” Scorpius shouted, “this is Juniper, she takes care of the Shop when I work in the lab.” He introduced the girl. “Juniper, this is Sammy.”  
Juniper smiled so wide they could see her even teeth. “Hi Sammy, nice to meet you.”  
Draco quickly interrupted, as he knew how uncomfortable Sam felt when he was forced to talk to strangers. “Hey you, we were waiting for you. Where you left Astoria?” he asked.  
Trying to catch his breath Sam stumbled out. “She was right behind me.” He turned to the window and looked out. “There she comes.”  
“Sammy, don’t run away from me like that.” She scolded as she opened the door, but her voice was so soft that Sam knew there was no reason to be afraid.  
He looked down anyway. “Yes, sorry Toria.”  
“It’s alright, honey. Just don’t do it again.”  
He nodded.  
Scorpius showed them around and explained to his parents what kind of experiments he currently was working on.Before her husband and son could fall into a long conversation of potions theory, Astoria suggested they would go for ice cream.  
Sitting in the café in the middle of a crowded street Sam felt very uncomfortable. He thought back to the last time he had ice cream. It was when they where out with his cousins and he couldn’t remember what happened exactly, he only knew that his dad had been furious about something and had said that he would never deserve ice cream ever again. Now the whole family was looking at him, waiting for him to choose a flavour. He couldn’t. He didn’t deserve it. He felt tears start to well up in his eyes. He couldn’t cry, not here, in front of everyone. He started to shake, the menu falling out of his hand, gliding under the table. When Draco reached out for him, he flinched violently. All three of them where looking at him in concern.  
“Come on Sammy, come with me.” Draco sad quietly. Sam stood immediately, he would not disobey. He followed Draco into the dark corner between the loo and a staircase, leading to the first floor. He was sure that Draco’s patience with him had come to an end. He had embarrassed them in public. And the public was important to them, Sam could tell. They were holding themselves so proud. He ruined their reputation. He deserved to be punished.  
Draco was quite at a loss what to do as he sat down heavy on the bottom stairs, the boy was shaking like a leave, tears running down his cheeks and he was desperately whispering “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”  
“Sam, there is no need for you to be sorry. You did nothing wrong.”  
Sam was shaking his head forcefully, merely hearing what Draco had said. His legs buckled underneath him. Draco could catch him, before he landed on his knees. He leaned him between his knees and let him stabilize against his chest. Slowly Sam was calming down, but still crying.  
“What happened? Sam, talk to me. What is wrong?”  
“I don’t deserve this.”  
“What? What don’t you deserve?” Draco asked confused.  
“You buying me things and ice cream.”  
“Who said that?” Draco asked, although he had a pretty good idea, who had said that.  
“My dad.”  
“Ok, now listen. Your dad is not here. We are you guardians for now, and we think you deserve ice cream. I tell you a secret Sammy. Adults are not always right, sometimes they make mistakes too. Your dad made a mistake, we are here to fix it. You are such a good boy Sam, you deserve a treat.”  
They stayed silent for a while, the tears had stopped running, but Draco continued to rub comforting circles into Sam’s back.  
“Alright again?”  
Sam sniffled and nodded.  
“Now, let’s wash your face and then go back to Astoria and Scorpius. I bet they are worried.”  
Sam nodded again and followed Draco into the loo.  
“So, what’s your favourite ice cream flavour?” Draco wanted to know.  
“Chocolate.”  
“The classic. So, I’m going to order chocolate for you, huh?”  
Sammy smiled a little bit warily. “Yes, please. Thank you.”


	10. Burning letters

Sam liked it to sit in the kitchen while Astoria was cooking or baking something. Draco could not cook for his dear life, so if the family wanted to eat something it was Astorias job, or if there was not much time, the house-elfe’s. She always radiated calmness when she was working in the kitchen and Sam liked to watch her. Sometimes she would tell him stories, sometimes she would work in a comfortable silence. He even was allowed to help her with some things.  
Now it was past 10 pm, way over Sam’s normal bedtime, but he was clinging to his coup of herbal tea, hoping if he would not finish it he could drag out going to sleep a bit longer. With a sigh, Astoria sat down next to him.  
“Honey, you are tired. You need to go to bed.”  
He shook his head.  
She stroked a lock behind his ear. “Afraid the bad dreams will come again?” she asked sympathetically.  
He nodded.  
It was for two weeks now that he would have nightmares every other night. Sometimes he was waking up crying and couldn’t remember what the dream was about. Sometimes he was woken up by Astoria or Draco, who had been alerted by the house-elf. These creatures didn’t need as much sleep as humans, so they had left their elf to watch over the child’s sleep.  
“I’m sorry Sam, but we can’t give you the Dreamless sleep potion every night. It’s not good for your well being on a continuing basis. You need to dream, so your mind can process things.”  
“Okay.” Sammy said defeated. He sure was tired and longing for his bed.  
“I’m going to stay with you until you fall asleep. Alright?”  
In secret, Sam was glad that Astoria would stay with him. The gentleness of her hands, brushing through his hair and the softness of her voice when she was reading stories to him made him feel warm, it almost made him feel loved. It made falling asleep so much easier.  
When Sam was asleep she kissed him on his forehead, she only did that when he was asleep, before she headed downstairs, leaving the door ajar, so she would hear when something was wrong. She sat down in the library, working through some correspondence. Draco would be home any minute now; he was working late. Since they had agreed to take care of Sam, their working schedules were a bit off. Now many things were done late at night or early in the morning, whenever a bit time was left. Draco had finally agreed to send Sam to the school that was just down the road, he would be going after the Christmas break. Astoria hoped that then they where able to work on nearly normal terms again and actually would spent more time as a family together.  
The floo roared and her husband stepped into the room. Groaning he let himself fall into his favourite armchair.  
“Good evening, love.” Astoria said out of her corner.  
“I didn’t see you there. Sorry, darling.” He apologized for ignoring her.  
“That’s quite alright. I saved you dinner. Are you hungry?”  
“Starving.”  
“I’ll be right back.” she said and left for the kitchen.  
When she came back he had his long legs outstretched, like that he reminded her of Scorpius.  
“You look like your son.” She told him.  
He grinned up to her. “What, young and good looking?”  
“Sure.” She bended down to kiss him.  
Draco began to eat, the tray placed in his lap.  
“How’d things go with Sammy?”  
Astoria sighed, “He’s afraid to go to sleep now. But I couldn’t give him another potion, he had to many already.”  
Draco nodded. “Did Albus say if it would stop?”  
“No, only that Sam is beginning to question the rightness of the abuse he has received from his parents’ hands and therefore all his suppressed memories and feelings are coming on the surface. His psyche has a lot to deal with, and Albus said it could be getting worse before it would get better.” Astoria explained.  
Draco frowned. “That means?”  
“Nightmares, eventual bed wetting, outbursts of his accidental magic, the food thing, aggression.” She listed.  
Draco looked at her. “Oh bloody hell.” He cursed.  
“He said it could get worse, not that it actual would. Draco, we agreed to take this on. We knew that this would not be a walk in the park.”  
“I know, I know. I just was thinking, that finally things were looking up.”  
“But they are! That he is starting to process things, means that he is starting to heal.”  
“If you say so.” He saw her displeased face. “I’m sorry love, maybe we could talk about this tomorrow? I’m knackered.”  
“Then let’s go get to bed.”  
They both looked after Sam before they went to bed. He was sleeping peacefully and they hoped that he would sleep through the night.

“Toria?” Sammy asked hesitantly.  
“Yes, sweetheart?”  
“I wanted to ask you…” he trailed of.  
She tilted her head in a questioning manner. “Yes?”  
“I wanted to ask you if I could write a letter to my mum?” he rushed out, nervously interlacing his fingers behind his back. She looked at him surprised.  
“Well, if you want to, I guess you can write her.” She said, trying not to let him know how unsure she felt about that. “Do your parents know about magic?”  
He shook his head. “I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so.”  
“Well, don’t write anything about magic, then. And we have to send the letter with the muggle post. I think I have paper and stamps somewhere. I’ll bring it up to your room when I found it.”  
“Thanks” Sam said before turning tail and stomping up the stairs again.  
Astoria looked at her hands, they where shaking.  
She paced a bit in the room before she prepared the fireplace and called Albus.  
“Mrs. Malfoy!” Albus called out surprised as he saw her head sitting in the flames. “What happened? Is something wrong?”  
“I don’t know Albus, Sammy… Sam asked me if he could write a letter to his mum. I said yes. I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”  
“First of all, calm down. It was the right thing to do. If you had forbidden it, he would have done it in secret.” Albus said in a calm tone. “We have to wait and see, what comes out of it.”  
“I’m sorry I disturbed you at work. You must think that I’m quite hysteric.” Astoria apologized.  
“Not at all, I’m glad you called me. I appreciate that you take such good care of Sammy.” Albus said gently.  
Astoria bit her lip, nodded, but then she ended the call. After she found paper and stamps with the help of an accio and a locating spell, she brought them up to Sammy’s room.

Sam’s heart rate speed up, when he heard the clatter of the letterbox slot that sounded unfamiliar in this house where normally owls brought the post. It was a letter from his mother, he recognized the handwriting, it was addressed at him. He took the letter with him in his room, before opening it.  
His face fell when he read the first sentence. It was a short letter, only two lines. But it left him numb, and shivering.

Samuel,  
It was your decision to leave this family.  
Please don’t contact us again.  
Mary Carter

He hadn’t expected a letter full of warm feelings, his mother never had been one to express a lot of affection, but he hadn’t expected something like this. He pulled out the lighter he had hidden in the depth of his backpack. He knew that he was not allowed to have it, yet, he had kept it. He rolled his thumb over the little wheel, producing a small flame. He held the letter over it. Promptly the paper caught fire. He watched it burn.  
Draco saw the orange flicker as he passed by Sam’s open door. It smelled like smoke. He nearly ran into the room, seeing that the boy was holding a burning piece of paper between his fingertips.  
“What are you doing” he yelled.  
Sam turned around, a blank expression on his face. Draco extinguished the fire with a spell.  
“What were you thinking? Are you out of your mind? Burning Paper, sitting on a wooden desk?” Draco was hardly able to contain himself.  
“With stunts like that, you could burn the whole house down. Say something!”  
But Sam only stared down at his hands, not saying anything.  
“What did you tried to burn, anyways?”  
Sam started to cry, silent tears were running down his face, before he freed himself from Dracos grip and threw himself facedown on the bed.  
Draco stared at the letter in his hand, the harsh words were still visible, the flames had not reached them, before he had put them out.  
He hurried over to the bed, pulling the child into a hug, ignoring the fight Sammy tried to put up. Holding him tight until he gave up struggling.  
“I’m so sorry” he whispered in Sam’s hair. “I’m so sorry”


	11. Another kind of brokenness

“I still don’t understand how you could let that happen?” Scorpius glared at Astoria.  
“Don’t talk to your mother like that.” Draco warned in a low voice. “It was not her fault.”  
“Why did you allowed him to write them, did you not see what they have done to him?”  
“Yes, I saw. But, and Albus agrees with me here, if I had forbidden him to write them, he maybe would have done it in secret. We want him to come to us, with every request, with every problem or worry he might have.” Astoria explained.  
Scorpius nodded, “I understand that, but this letter… it throws us back weeks, when not even months. He doesn’t speak again.” His hand had been running through his hair so many times it stuck up on several places.  
“Could you please calm down, Scorpius?” his father asked a bit annoyed, “we are just as worried as you are. It doesn’t help the slightest when you lose it too.”  
Scorpius sat down, sighing, “I know, I’m sorry. It’s just that I really feel helpless this time. He’s so sad, and I can’t do anything to make him smile or laugh again.”  
“The only thing we can do, is to show him that we are there for him. We are his family now, he needs to feel that.” Astoria asserted.  
“There is no pressure for him to talk, if he communicates in a nonverbal way, it’s ok too. Albus said that we had to give him time. He will speak again. He only needs time.” Draco told Scorpius.  
“Well then, I have to get going. I’m going to say bye to Sam.” Scorpius stood up. He embraced his mother, “I’m sorry about earlier, I know that you two are trying your best.” He looked at his father. Draco nodded silently.

An hour later Draco knocked on Sam’s door. The boy sat at the desk, absorbed in his drawing. When they had noticed that Sam liked to draw, they had bought him paper and a variety of crayons. Curiously Draco leaned over Sams shoulder, to see what he was drawing. It was a cat with grey fur. The boy was really talented.  
“Is that Missy?” Draco asked softly.  
Sam nodded with a small smile.  
“It’s beautiful. Now, Sam it’s time for dinner. Please wash your hands and come down with me.”  
Sam shook his head.  
Draco sighed, he had expected it.  
“Sam, you know that coming down for dinner is not negotiable, so hurry up please.”  
A little more forceful then it would have been necessaire, Sam put away his drawing supplies. Draco smiled at him encouraging.  
“Don’t forget to bring down your apple.”

It was three weeks ago, when their house-elf had informed them that frequently food was missing from the kitchen. Of course they had known instantly that it was Sam, who had been stealing it. Albus had told them of this particular behaviour. So they had been searching Sam’s room for his stash.  
“Draco, I found it.” Astorias voice sounded choked. She pushed forward a metal box, he knew had originally contained some of Scorpius board games. He closed his eyes, another box, another attempt to hide things. Sometimes it all was too much. But this could not be as unsettling as a box full of knifes and razors, now, could it? When he opened the lid, he nearly gaged, the smell and the sight of food in various states of rotting was sickening. Quickly he closed the box again. He was wrong, this was just another kind of brokenness. He closed his eyes again.  
“What do we do about it?” his wife whispered.  
“We have to talk to Albus about that. Maybe he knows what to do.”  
“But we have to do it fast. He could poison himself with this stuff.”  
“I know. Didn’t Scorpius say he would go out with them? So we can talk to him, when Scorpius brings Sam back home.” Draco was thinking out loud.  
“I’ll send an owl.”

The box sat in the middle of the kitchen table.  
“We found his food stash.” Astoria said tiredly.  
Albus nodded solemnly. “I thought this would happen.”  
“Any ideas what to do about it?” Draco asked.  
“We have talked about it a little. He can not explain it properly, only that it makes him feel better if he has some food hidden. He’s aware, that he can’t eat something that has began to moulder. He said, that he always got to eat at his parents’ house, and I think it rather has to do with the unsettling change of location he was going through.” Albus elaborated.  
“Yeah, but what do we do about it? This can’t go on.”  
“No, I agree. But you can not take it away from him suddenly. How about this: You give him something after dinner, like an apple and some non-perishable food. There are some little cakes and stuff, packed in foil that last for months. You can buy them in every muggle supermarket.”  
Draco growled, he hated Supermarkets.  
“So you can control what he takes with him. Tell him to bring the apple back down if he doesn’t eat it. It’s enough if you check the other stuff once a month.” Albus finished his explanation.  
“That sounds like a compromise.” Astoria agreed. “Now we have to make Sam understand that we are not about to punish him, but trying to help him.”  
“Now, we will call him down. Would you mind to wait outside, Albus?” Draco asked.  
“Not at all, you should handle this on your own.” Albus rose from his chair. “I’m going to call him down.”  
He stepped in the hall. “Scorpius, Sammy, could you come down here for a minute?”  
Scorpius called back: “Coming.”  
“Sammy, Draco and Astoria are in the kitchen, they want to talk to you about something. “  
Sam was looking at him, with his deer in a headlight stare.  
“Don’t worry, you are not in trouble. They just want to talk.” Albus said calmly.  
Scorpius was looking at him, with a gaze, that was saying: “What the hell is going on?”  
Albus nodded towards the kitchen door. When Sam was through the door and saw the box where he kept his food in, he bolted backwards out of the door again, but he bumped into Scorpius, who suddenly knew what this was all about.  
“It’s alright, we just want to talk to you.” Draco said softly. “We are not mad at you, come on, sit down.”  
“Listen honey,” Astoria started, “we know that you feel safer wen you have a bit of food in your room, that right?”  
Sammy, white as a sheet nodded, his eyes fixated on the table top.  
“Ok, we can understand that.”  
Sam looked up at her, only with his eyes, head still hanging down. ‘They could?’  
Astoria continued, “But you have to understand, that this is really insanitary, to keep the food like that. If it starts to mould, you can not eat it anymore.” She stressed.  
Sam nodded. He knew that. It was not about really about eating it anyways, he just felt better when he had something he could lay in the box every night. He remembered this one kid in the home he first went to, that needed to turn on and off the lights at least three times before he could go to bed. Maybe it was something like this?  
“You really could get ill from the spores, they are toxic.” She explained. “So we thought we could give you something non-perishable and a fruit after dinner. You could put that into your box. The fruit, however, you have to bring down every night, if you haven’t eaten it. You think you could do that?”  
Sam was thinking. Could he do that? He would still have something he could put in his stash. So it would be alright, wouldn’t it?  
“Yes” he said slowly.  
Astoria rounded the table and gave him a kiss on top of his head.  
“That’s great honey. We are proud of you.” She said smiling.  
“Now let’s have dinner. Could you call Albus in, please?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I would like to hear your opinion and maybe constructive criticism. So please take a bit time to review. Thank you for reading.  
> I hope you enjoy this story.


	12. Running away

Draco had started to give Sam lessons whenever he had the time. He would tell him about the wizarding world, about magic, teach him some history of magic, that seemed fit for a seven-year-old and he showed him how to play wizard chees. And Sam liked to learn. It was the last day of November and Sam sat in Dracos study, waiting for him to return, as he had gone to fetch a book from the library. It was rainy outside, cold, icy rain was darkening the sky for days now. Inside the house it was warm and cosy. All over the house there were candles lit, although Draco had made sure they where out of Sam’s reach. But he had left the thick, white candle on the desk, forgetting to extinguish the tiny flame before he left the room. Sammy knew he shouldn’t, all the adults had told him again and again, that it was dangerous to toy around with fire. And he knew that it was, he was not stupid. He just couldn’t stop his hand creeping forward to the candle, running his fingers quickly through the flame. He jumped when he heard the door open behind him, knocking the candle over in the process of straighten himself up. Some of the parchment, that littered the desk caught firer almost instantly. Draco yelled the incantation that let the fire die down, without doing greater damage. He sank down in his chair.  
Sammy was holding his breath. He was sure that Draco was angry. Angrier than he had ever seen him.  
“I’m sorry.” He tried out his voice, he was not sure if Draco had heard him.  
“Don’t. Just go to your room. We will talk about that later.” Draco pressed out, behind his clenched teeth.  
“Go!” he yelled as the boy stayed in place.  
Sam flinched and ran out of the door all the way to his room, nearly tripping over his feet. His vision was blurred from the tears that were welling in his eyes threatening to spill over any moment. 

Draco sat in his chair, rubbing over his face with trembling hands. He never would admit it out loud, but he still felt uncomfortable about fire. That wasn’t really a surprise, given that he had lost one of his best friends and nearly died himself in a fire. But Sam didn’t know that. Damn it, he shouldn’t have shouted at the child the way he did. What could he do, to make him understand the dangers of fire? Still, yelling wouldn’t do any good. In moments like these, he asked himself why he had agreed to such a difficult task. Wasn’t it enough that he had spent years of concern for his own son’s health, why must he take on the problems of a child that wasn’t even his? In these moments he deliberately chose to ignore all the good parts that came with taking care of Sam. The warmth in his chest when he saw him laugh, the growing love he felt, watching the child interact with his wife, the growing trust between them, the overwhelming need to protect him from every evil, he felt it growing day by day, morphing into the same feeling he always had for Scorpius. Sam was becoming a part of his family, he was feeling like a father of a young child again. And he had to admit, that he had missed it. Scorpius was grown up now, he didn’t need him like he used to. Besides that, he knew that Sam was hurting, and he knew what pain was. He had known it from the moment this monstrous creature had taken residence in his parents’ home. The pain of failing, fearing for his family, the pain of guilt, and the pain of loss, and not to underestimate the pain of seeing his own child hurting, not able to help. Maybe the pain of rejection and physical abuse was different, but it was pain nonetheless. And he knew, that these emotional pains were not likely to fade away completely, but they could fade away enough to leave behind a life worth living.

Sam’s heart raced, fear was pooling in his stomach, making his limps numb and heavy. Planed out punishment always was the worst. Whenever his father saw a real reason to punish him, he used it to full capacity. This where the times, he not only used his fists, but sometimes also a belt. Sam could feel himself shaking. How far would Draco go? With sudden determination he decided that he didn’t wanted to find out. He couldn’t get out through the front door, he knew it was warded, so he had to get out through the backyard. Hopefully there where no wards as well. Hastily he walked into the kitchen, unlocking the door that lead into the garden. He quickly locked around. No, the garden gate was probably warded too, he had to climb over the wall. There, where the ivy was growing. He quickly climbed the wall, stepping on the plants strong roots. He didn’t care that he scraped his hands and knees, his mind was in panic and his only thought was to get away. He let himself fall down to the other side of the wall and as soon as he stood up again, he began to run. He was running through quite a few gardens before he was stopped by a wall, to high to climb. He turned and passed by the house, for the first time worrying about his trespassing. Opening the garden gate, carefully to not be seen by the owner, he suddenly was standing on the sidewalk. When he looked around he realized he had no idea where he was.

Draco sighed, better to get a grip and look after Sammy he told himself. He expected to find the child in his room, scared half to death due to his outbreak earlier, but the room was empty.  
Draco called out, “Sam? Sammy where are you?” but everything stayed silent. He ran down the stairs and first checked the library. No Sam. Then the kitchen. No Sam either, but the back door was open, bumping slightly against the frame. Could he be outside? Draco looked over the garden, but there was no sight of the kid. Draco started to feel really uncomfortable, panic welled up in his chest. What if Sammy was gone? With long steps he stormed back inside, upstairs again, searching every room. Sam was gone. What to do? At first he had to inform Astoria, then Scorpius and then… what? Where to look for the boy? This was his fault, how could he’d been so stupid? With shaking hands, he threw floopowder in the fireplace in the hall.  
“Astoria!” he called out, voice hoarse from yelling Sam’s name.  
She jumped and nearly spilled a whole inkpot on her parchments.  
“Merlin, Draco! You scarred me.” Frowning she took in the upset appearance of her husband. “What happened?” she asked urgently.  
“Sam, he disappeared.”  
“What?”  
“We had a row, I send him to his room and when I went to look after him he was gone. I’m going to alarm Scorpius. Please come home as soon as you can.”  
She only had time to nod, before Draco was gone again. 

Astoria hardly knocked before she stumbled in the room next to her office. Her boss looked up from her work, to detect the sudden disturbance.  
“Astoria? Every thing alright?” she asked concerned.  
“No,” Astoria gasped out, “Our foster child went missing, I have to go home.”  
“Of course, use my floo, my dear and let me know when I can do anything for you.” She said friendly.  
Astoria had no time to answer, before she stepped into the flames.

As soon as Draco had ended the call to his wife, he stepped outside the front door to apparate into Diagon Alley, just in front of Scorpius shop. He didn’t keep himself with greetings, before he barged into Scorpius lab.  
“You have to come with me, now! Sam is missing.” He barked out and stormed out of the shop again, without making sure Scorpius was following him.  
Moments later all three of them were standing in their entrance hall.  
“What the hell happened?” Scorpius demanded to know.  
“He was setting my desk at fire, I told him to go to his room, I took a few minutes to calm myself down, when I went to his room- he was gone.” Draco recapped the events shortly.  
“Alright,” Scorpius decided to act rather than waste their time with talking, “did you have a look on the streets, yet?”  
“No.”  
“How long is he missing?” Astoria wanted to know.  
“Half an hour, forty minutes, maybe?” Draco was not sure.  
“Ok, we go out looking for him in the neighbourhood; mum, it would be best if you stay here, in case he comes home.” Scorpius took the command.  
Astoria nodded. She was awfully pale.  
“Dad, you have to transfigure your cloths.” Scorpius reminded his father.

Sammy was chattering, he was cold and soaked to the skin. He just wanted to go home, now that his panic had died down he thought about the stupidity of his actions. What should he do now?  
“Hey you!” a voice said.  
Sam’s head jerked up, there was an old man watching him from underneath an umbrella.  
“What are you doing here, in this shitty weather? Got lost?”  
Sam nodded relived, maybe the man could show him the direction back home.  
“Where do you live?”  
“Jarman str. 100”  
The man laughed. “That can’t be right. It’s a gap site. For more than 25 years now.”  
Sam was confused, until he remembered what Draco had told him about magic, some things where invisible to muggles or looked different.  
He blushed, surly the man would think he was lying.  
“So what are you? A little runaway, eh?”  
Sam shook his head. “No Sir, I’m just lost.” He could feel his magic sizzle in his fingertips. The mans dog started to bark like crazy.  
Sam turned around and fled down the street, he was pretty sure, that he was running in the wrong direction. When he couldn’t breath anymore, he stopped running. He heard a car pulling next to him and when he looked up he saw that it was a police car.  
“Oi boy, stop right there.” The officer shouted out the window. ”We got a call about a little runaway, that might be you?”  
There was no chance to run. So he stopped walking and watched the two officers stepping out of the car.  
“What’s your name kid?” the larger of the two asked him.  
“Samuel Carter, Sir.” Sam said politely.  
“Where do you live?”  
Sam shook his head, he wouldn’t make that mistake twice.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the other officer asked “Surly you do live somewhere.”  
Sam nodded. “But I can’t tell you.”  
Both policeman frowned at that statement. “Why not?”  
Sam refused to answer.  
“If you don’t tell us where you live, we have to take you down to our station.”  
Sam shrugged his shoulders, not much he could do about that.  
The younger man sighed, “well then, get in the car.”  
Begrudgingly Sam obeyed and slipped into the backseat of the car. Frenetically he thought about his options, but there really weren’t any. Scorpius and Albus weren’t even living in muggle London, the police would never find them. From the old man he knew, that the house he had spent now nearly three months in was invisible to muggles. Giving them the address of his real parents was not an option too. But how had he gotten the letter if the house was invisible, he wondered suddenly. Magic still had too many loose ends for him to understand everything. He stopped thinking about what to do, he was not getting somewhere anyhow. Instead he was thinking about how much he wanted to go home. It occurred him, that he was thinking of the house as his home. He was thinking about the warmth of the fireplace, the hot chocolate that Astoria would make him, the softness of her voice when she read to him. He nearly had forgotten why he had run away. He should had accepted his punishment, then he would not be here, freezing and feeling hopelessly alone. 

They had been walking through the streets of their neighbourhood for half an hour now, no sign of a little, dark haired boy. They even had asked the few people that were out in this weather. Nobody had seen him.  
“We need to tell the police, that we are searching for a child. They know the area.” Scorpius said.  
Draco distorted his mouth. “Do we have to?”  
“Do you have a better idea? Maybe they even found him. We can always ask Mr. Potter to help looking, if you still can’t get over your dislike for muggles, father.” Scorpius said sharply.  
Draco mumbled something incomprehensible, before pushing the doors to the police station open.

Sam remained silent about every question the police officer was asking him. They had given him a blanket and made him sit down at the older mans desk.  
Scorpius explained to the women at the front desk that they were looking for a child.  
“Sir, our officers brought in a child earlier. A boy, six to seven years, dark curly hair, freckles.” She described him.  
“Yeah, that’s him.”  
“If you wait here, I will speak to the officer…” she didn’t finish the sentence as Draco and Scorpius were walking past her, the heavy glass doors flying open, without being touched. She blinked, must be an optical illusion she decided.  
When Sammy saw Draco and Scorpius walking in the station, he jumped from his chair and run up to them, but then he remembered that Draco was angry with him and he stopped short.  
“Are you still mad at me?” he asked shyly.  
Draco sank down to his knees and shook his head. “No, I never was even that mad. You just scarred me. Come here my boy.” He held his hands out and Sam threw himself into Dracos arms. When he felt that Sam had his cold hands securely wrapped around his neck, he stood up again. Sam wrapped his legs automatically around his foster father’s waist. Draco pressed the clammy boy against his chest to warm him.  
The officer who had watched this scene with a slightly open mouth, came to life again.  
“And who are you?” he bellowed.  
Scorpius turned to him and said in a friendly tone. “Scorpius and Draco Malfoy. We are the Childs guardians. We’ll take the boy home now.”  
“It doesn’t work like that. You have to give an official statement.” The policeman protested.  
“I don’t think so.” Scorpius said sweetly and waved his wand, casually saying ‘Obliviate’.  
A dazed, confused expression came into the officers’ eyes. “Eh, well… if that was everything Mr. er, Malby, eh. Then you free to go.” His voice sounded a bit dreamily.  
Scorpius nodded, giving him an encouraging smile. Draco hid his smile in Sams hair, before he shifted the boys weight a bit and walked out of the station.  
“Sam, we are going to apperate now. This will feel funny. Hold on tight and don’t let go. Do you understand?” He felt the boy nod, his little face buried in his shoulder.  
“Alright, at three. One, two, three.”  
It really wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but at least Sam knew he was home again. He felt it before Draco walked up the few stairs to the heavy front door.  
“You found him.” Astoria cried out as soon the walked in the hall, closely followed by Scorpius. Her eyes were slightly red from crying. She stepped closer, to place a gentle hand on Sam’s forehead. Sam only muttered “Toria.”  
“No fever, yet. He needs to get out of these wet cloths, a hot bath and then bed rest.”  
She pressed a soft kiss to Sam’s temple. “Don’t do that ever again. You hear me? I was scared sick.” But Sam didn’t respond, he was asleep.


	13. Building a house

The fever came at night and stayed for three days. Astoria bended over the small form of the sleeping child underneath the blankets and stroked back his tousled hair. Then she left the room, leaving the door open.  
When she came back into the kitchen,Draco looked up from his cup.  
“How is he?”he asked quietly.  
“Better I think, the fever has fallen a little.”  
Draco breathed a sigh of relive, “That's good” he handed her a cup of tea.  
“I made some for you too.”  
She smiled at him and took the tea. “Thank you,love.”  
For a while, they sipped their tea in silence, each one lost in thoughts.  
Then Astoria spoke again “I know that you don't like it, dear, but we have to make the house visible. When he attends school in a few weeks, we need an address.” She reminded her husband softly.  
Draco stared dully out of the window. No,he certainly not liked the idea, that his house would be visible to everyone. But Astoria was right, they needed an address, now that they had dipped their toes into the muggle world. It only was luck that they had found Sam again, it certainly was not helping if people thought the boy was barmy when he told them where he was living.  
He agreed with a huff, “Then let's do it now. It's not like we can just make a whole house appear, without raising questions.”  
They both took their wands and walked into the garden. They took each other's hand and Draco counted to three, before the house was wrapped briefly in red light.  
“There we go, the fundament to a whole new house.”  
For them it was still their house, but when the neighbors would look, they would not longer see a empty space, overgrown by weeds, but that the parcel had been sold and the new owners where in the process of building a house.  
When they came back into the kitchen, Sammy appeared in the kitchen door. He had been woken up by the crack of magic, shaking the house.  
“What happened?” He asked somewhat drowsy, rubbing at his eyes.  
“Just a bit of magic. I’m sorry that we woke you up,sweetheart.” Astoria quieted him.  
He looked adorable, his cheeks where rosy due to the fever and he was still half asleep. He was standing in the doorframe, barefoot and with Scorpius old,stuffed Dragon pressed to his chest, blinking into the well lit kitchen.  
“Do you want some tea,love?”  
He nodded.  
“Do you want to sit with us in the Library for a bit?” Draco asked.  
Sammy nodded again.  
“Come on, love.” Astoria extended her hand and Sam took it, without hesitating. She sat down at the couch and rather than taking his favorite armchair in front of the fire, like she had expected him to do, he sat down next to her. She summoned a blanked and wrapped it around him, pulling the child closer. He leaned against her, looking up with slightly glassy eyes. She smiled down at him and he shyly smiled back. He appreciated her cold hands running over his heated skin and he melted into the touch. Astoria relished the moment, as they were rare. Normally he wouldn't allow himself to be hold and cuddled, only when he was very tired or exhausted he let his guard down. Astoria assumed that it was his engrained fear of rejection that made him so reserved, when she could feel that he actually was longing for tenderness and caring contact.  
Before Draco came into the room with their freshly refilled cups, Sammy was asleep again, curled up, like a cat, with his head in Astoria’s lap. 

Over the next few weeks, they continued to transform the house, so that the shell of the building now was visible for everyone.  
In the last week before Christmas holidays, Draco and Astoria were waiting in front of the headmasters office at Sammy’s new school. A tall, dark tanned women opened the door and beckoned them in.  
“What can I do for you Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy?”  
“Well, a few weeks ago we have registered our foster child to visit this school after Christmas brake.” Astoria said, while Draco leaned back in his chair and let his eyes wander around the room.  
“Yes, Samuel Carter, that's correct?”  
Astoria nodded, “ The reason, why we wanted to talk to you is, that we need you and your teachers to know that he has been through a lot. And sometimes he can be a bit difficult to deal with. He doesn't talk a lot, mostly he communicates nonverbally, and we don't want the teachers pressure him into speaking. You have to understand that he was abused and taken away from his parents, after that he came into care, therefore he has been in and out of schools pretty irregularly for the last year.” Astoria explained calmly.  
The headmistress listened in silence. “Does he get professional help?” She asked when Astoria was finished. Draco nodded. “He talks to a he...therapist once a week.”  
“Good” the headmistress said, oblivious to the little slip up. “ I will inform my teachers about Samuels special situation. I believe he is in good hand with us.” She reassured the Malfoys. “We are a small independent school, with small classes. We try to create a atmosphere where our students are comfortable and were everyone can tap their full potential.” She mapped out her schools policy.  
“Oh, we are not worried about his educational performances, he likes to learn and he is a bookworm.” Draco wondered about the pride he was detecting in his own voice, Astoria smiled amused.  
“Well, we are looking forward to welcome Samuel in our school after break.” She said warmly.  
“I forgot,” Astoria said suddenly, “don't call him Samuel, he doesn't like that. Just call him Sam.”  
The headmistress scribbled a note on her file. “Of course.”  
They all stood up from their seats and the headmistress extended her hand for Draco and Astoria to shake.  
Before they left the room, Draco turned around again, “I almost forgot, we just moved here. So we don't have a phone,yet. But you can notify us by post.” He secretly had rehearsed that sentences and was glad it sounded so naturally.  
Again she wrote down this information. “Alright, thank you for your visit. You don't need to worry. Goodbye Mr. And Mrs. Malfoy”she said politely.  
Astoria and Draco as well said there goodbyes,and when they were sure that nobody was looking they apparated home again.


	14. Christmas

In a week it would be Christmas, and Sammy had no idea how to feel about that. When Astoria carefully had asked what Christmas was like with his parents and if there was any kind of tradition, that he would like to integrate in their celebration he only had shrugged. He hadn’t told her, that Christmas with his family was always horrible, and that it was his most dreaded holiday. His father was at home and drank too much, out of boredom, his mother was stressed and irritated the whole time. His aunt and uncle were loud and unbearable. And his cousins were just a bunch of stupid kids, badgering and making fun of him. Mostly, Christmas brought him some loveless presents and a black eye, as his father could hit him in the face, now he wouldn’t be at school for two weeks. The family’s forced get-together only made clear, that they were barley functioning. It made Sam feel lonely, when he thought about his classmate’s stories about sledging and family dinners, while he tried to stay out of his parents’ way as much as possible. But maybe the Malfoys where different? They actually enjoyed family meals, even if they were not a loud and cheerful family, Sam appreciated the gentleness between them. Every Sunday Scorpius came for breakfast and often stayed the whole day, sometimes he brought his girlfriend with him. At Christmas it would only be them, Scorpius and his parents, and for the first time Sam and Elsa. Scorpius had told him, that his fathers parents were both dead, he never had met them, and his mothers’ parents lived in France and it had been years since he last saw them. Sam only had known his maternal grandfather, but he had died when he was six. It was a bereavement to him, as he had spent a lot of time with the old man. He always had stayed with him after school. His grandfather was the only member of the family Sam felt loved by. Often he had told him: “My dear boy, you are someone very special, and one day you’ll find people who can see that. Have faith.”  
After he had found out, that he was a wizard, he was wondering if his grandfather had known it all along. When he had passed away, suffering from a heart disease, Sam had to spend more time at home, and this was when things really got bad with his father.

Draco conducted a celling high fir tree into the niche besides the fireplace of the living room. Sam was watching him from his armchair in the library. When he turned his head right, he could just see him. He smiled at the curses, Draco muttered under his breath. If he knew he was watched, he surely would keep his mouth shut, to not get in trouble with Astoria. After a special mean curse, Sammy quietly stood up and leaned against the doorframe.  
“Need help?” he said as innocent as he could. Draco gave a jerk, before he lost his concentration and was thwacked in the face with a branch.  
“Ouch! Come here you little monster.” With a last flick of his wand he banished the tree in its corner and came towards Sam. Only a second anxiety was flaring up in Sam’s stomach, making him go stiff, but then he saw the humours twinkle in Draco’s eyes and he took of laughing. He fled into the kitchen where Astoria and Elsa were baking biscuits.  
“No running in the house.” Astoria reprimanded softly.  
Sam nodded. “Sorry.” He said quickly, but he really wasn’t too bothered about it. When Astoria reminded him about the rules, she did it always gentle, and he knew it was only that- a reminder, nothing more. No threat, no punishment. Elsa winked and gave him a cookie, “Careful, it’s still hot. She warned him. He leaned back into his chair, munching on his cookie and watched the two witches working and chatting. It felt good to be around them, warm and homey. 

The night before Christmas, he went to bed with a knot in his stomach. It was a tiny feeling of hope, that this year really could be different, that this year, he wouldn’t feel alone and frightened. But this hope was overshadowed with distrust. He told himself not to hope. It only would hurt. Even if he felt like he was part of this family, even if he felt loved, he knew it was not true, it was not real, only a question of time until they would realise that they made a mistake and that he was not worth it. They would send him away sooner or later. So it was better not to hope, disappointment was painful. How could they possible love him, if his own family couldn’t? 

The next morning Sam woke up early. It was still dark outside and his clock said it was 6 am. He snuggled deeper into his warm blankets and closed his eyes again. The next time he woke up, was because of Scorpius, saying his name, trying to wake him gently.  
“Come on Sam, get up. It’s Christmas!” he seemed excited.  
“I’m tired.” Sam growled. Wishing he could spend the whole day in his warm bed.  
“Come on,” Scorpius repeated, “Mum made chocolate chip pancakes. Aren’t they your favourite?”  
Sam gave a tiny nod. But besides that, he didn’t move.  
“You can even stay in your pyjamas, if you like.” Scorpius tried to coax him out of bed.  
Sammy had to resist the urge to dive under his covers, so he could avoid Scorpius questioning gaze.  
“Hey Sam,” Scorpius said quietly, suddenly looking very serious, “this Christmas is going to be great. I promise.”  
Sam refused to look into Scorpius direction, but he tentatively got out of bed. He pulled on his thick wool socks, and went to brush his teeth. He was going to take up on Scorpius offer to keep his pyjamas on. When he came out of the bathroom, Scorpius was grinning again, like he was the one who was seven years old.  
“Let’s go, have a look at the presents, I believe, there one or two for you, too.” He said cheerfully.  
Of course his parents had given him Christmas presents, it was the normal thing to do, but Sam could hardly remember if he had been given anything he actually liked, aside from football –tricots and shoes he had needed.  
Scorpius directed him into the living room, were everyone was waiting. Astoria took a step towards him and embraced him, not letting go, when she felt him stiffen.  
“Marry Christmas my dear.” She whispered. “We are so glad, that you are here, with us.” She said louder.  
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Draco nodding.  
“Now presents!” Scorpius interrupted loudly, before it could get too soppy.  
He urged Sammy to sit down besides the tree and began to gather the packets Sammy’s name was written upon around him.  
Sam watched with big eyes, there where at least three packets in various sizes for him.  
“Well, this one is from Albus.” Scorpius told him, holding up a square, badly wrapped present.  
Hesitantly Sam took it from his hand. He could feel it was a book. Carefully he tried to unfold it, without ripping the paper too much. His mother had hated it, when paper shavings where lying around. Finally, he could see the title of the book. It was Oliver Twist. Smiling, he carefully set it down. Scorpius was shoving the next present into Sammy’s lap. "This one is from Elsa and me. Don’t worry, it’s just a part of another gift, yet to come.” He smiled slyly.  
Just as mindful, as he did with the book, Sam unwrapped it. A pair of soft, dark blue gloves fell into his lap, a familiar star pattern was stitched on them.  
“They are beautiful, thank you very much.” He looked from Scorpius to Elsa, who smiled at him.  
“The last one is from us.” Astoria said, as Sammy gingerly unwrapped the largest.  
It revealed a stuffed Dragon, similar to the one that belonged to Scorpius a long time ago, only it was bright red instead of dull green and much softer. He pressed the soft toy to his chest. He had had a teddy bear, but shortly after his sixth birthday his father had told him, that he was too old now, to sleep with it. The first night without it, he cried himself to sleep. When he found Scorpius dragon in his old stuff, he had taken it in secret, but of course they had noticed, they noticed everything. ‘Because they care about you.’ He quickly pushed this thought away. It was confusing, all the things his parents told him, everything that had seemed set in stone, now was different. Constantly they were telling him the opposite to his father’s rules and sentiments. So, what should he believe? Now, they had given him his own cuddly toy, even though he was seven now. But everyone was behaving like it was completely normal. Astoria contently smiled at him. “So you like it? We thought you would like to have your own, without chewed on wings.” She looked over to Scorpius, who’s cheeks were slightly pink.  
“Mum” he said reproachful.  
Sam wanted to hug Astoria, in her arms, his confused mind, always in a quarrel with himself came to rest, but he stayed in place and just whispered “Thank you,” so quietly that he was not sure if they could even hear him. But Draco nodded his head and Astoria looked at him intently.  
Scorpius cleared his throat, to shoo away the strange tension that filled the room.  
“Well, we have one last present for you. It’s from us all!” Scorpius tugged out a large object, that had been hidden behind the tree. It was long and wrapped in brown paper.  
Scorpius nudged Sam shoulder. “Open it!”  
Carefully, Sam staved the paper off. It was a broom. It surly looked like every other broom he had seen before, but he knew this one was special. This one was for flying! He would learn how to fly! He couldn’t get out any word. He needed two attempts before his voice was working again and he could say his thanks.  
“We can try it out now, the weather is perfect for flying.” Scorpius said excited.  
“No such thing before breakfast, boys.” Astoria said severely.

After Breakfast Sam raced up the stairs, to get dressed. Scorpius and Draco were waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. It was cold outside, but sunny and Astoria made sure that all three of them were dressed warmly enough, before she let them go out. It hadn’t snowed yet, but the ground was frozen and the grass was coated with little crystals, creaking under every step. The sun made the frost sparkle and their breath hung in little clouds in front of their faces.  
“Just one thing, before I explain you what to do, here, unfortunately you can not fly higher than the roof of the house. Otherwise the neighbours will see you. Understood?” Draco said to Sammy, who nodded.  
“You too, Scorpius?” he asked his son.  
Scorpius looked confused, “I know that.” He said a bit bristled.  
“I know, you know that, but you tend to forget it.”  
Scorpius only made a pff- sound and said nothing more.  
“Alright Sam, put your broom down on the ground and stand beside it. Now hold out your hand, you are right handed, right?” he waited for Sam to nod and then continued with explaining, “and say ‘up’. You have to say it loud and clear.” He demonstrated it, and his broom sprang in his hand before he even finished the word.  
“Now try.”  
Sam held his hand out over his broom and said ‘Up’ as loud and clearly as he could. Nothing happened. He looked over to Draco, then to Scorpius, who smiled at him reassuringly.  
“Don’t worry, mostly it doesn’t work the first time. Take of your right glove and the try to picture how the handle will feel in your hand. Try again.” He prompted him.  
Sammy briefly closed his eyes and imagined how the broom would feel in his hand, the smooth wood underneath his fingers and the weight in his hands. Then he said ‘Up’ again and the broom shot up to his hand so forcefully that he was startled and failed to close his fingers around it. With a clattering sound it fell back to the ground. Panic was rising in Sam’s chest; he was fighting back tears. He was a failure, he couldn’t do the simplest things right. Suddenly he felt Draco next to him, tilting up his chin.  
“Sam, it’s ok. You did good. Just relax and try it again. A little less forcefully this time. You did good.” He said calmly.  
Sam nodded determined. And when Draco stepped back, he held his hand out again. This time it worked. Scorpius clapped his hands and Draco smiled at him, he could feel a little smile tugging in the corner of his mouth, too. They showed him how to mount his broom, and to his surprise it felt good. The first ten minutes were slightly tottery, but after a while he understood how the broom reacted to his body. He always had a good sense of balance and he was by no means afraid of highs, not for nothing he had been the best tree climber in his grade. Unprompted he raced Scorpius, who was flying next to him, to the other end of the garden, and then, with a daredevil hairpin turn, back to Draco, who hovered just above the ground where they took off.  
“Astoria will kill me, if I don’t tell you to be not so reckless,” he said, but with a smile in his eyes he continued, “but I must say, you are doing great.”  
Sam’s chest swelled with pride. His broom hopped up and down in the air, mimicked the child’s bouncing. His eyes where sparkling in his, cold reddened, face. “Thank you so much. It’s the best Christmas ever.” Draco watched contend how he flew back to Scorpius and played with him. To hear Sammy laugh unguarded like that, was a precious gift.  
They stayed outside until Elsa called them in to help with the preparations for the feast. After they all had eaten so much, they felt like bursting, they settled in the library, and while the others were reading or lazily making conversation, Sam was asleep, five minutes after he had taken his place in his armchair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please take a bit time to review!! Thank you for reading.  
> Also I'm looking for a beta, if you are interested write me, please.


	15. First day of school

Before New years’ eve, Scorpius and Albus took Sam into Diagon Alley, to buy some fireworks at the joke article shop, that belonged to Albus uncles. Sam was fascinated by all the things that were on display. But when Scorpius asked him if he would like to have anything else, he only shook his head, he didn’t have a clue what to do with these things. He never had been one to play pranks. Albus’ uncle Ron had reacted a bit strange when Albus had introduced him. He had smirked at him and said: “Well, well, Draco Malfoy taking in a Muggle-born. If that isn’t irony.”  
Sammy looked confused from Albus to Scorpius. What was going on here? Scorpius threw an angry look at the man, before he got to his knees, and put his arm protectively around Sam’s waist.  
“Don’t worry Sam, this has nothing to do with you, they just can’t stand each other, he and my father. I’ll explain later.” He told him. He stood up again and interrupted Albus rudely, who was having a hushed discussion with his uncle.  
“We are ready to go, are you coming with us?” He asked.  
Albus nodded and turned around, to follow them out of the shop.  
As they were only inches away from the door, they heard Ron calling after them: “I’m sorry!” Scorpius turned around and gave him a curt nod, but then proceeded to leave the shop.  
They said goodbye to Albus and Scorpius put his arms around Sam, so they could disapperate together.  
Scorpius placed a mug with hot tea in front of Sam and watched him wrap his little hands around it, just like Astoria always did. He sat down across from him.  
“Well, my Dad went to school with Albus’s Dad and Mum and Uncle and Aunt. They couldn’t stand each other. You remember when I told you about the evil wizard? And that my grandparents and my Dad too, were fighting for him?”  
Sammy nodded, he had not understood everything Scorpius had told him, he just had kept in mind, that there was a war between good and evil and that Draco in the beginning was on the evil side, because his parents were too, but then it was really horrible.  
“One of the things the evil wizard and his followers wanted, was to to subdue the muggle world, they were thinking that muggles were less worth than wizards and witches. So they especially were against muggle-borns or half-bloods.” Scorpius tried to explain, but he was uncertain if he was successful.  
“What are half-bloods?” Sammy asked, looking bemused.  
“When a witch or a wizard marries a muggle, their children are half-bloods. My family once shared the believe that they were less worth, than wizards with no muggles in their bloodline. My ancestors were incredibly proud of the pure-blood status of our family, and that’s why Albus’s Uncle said it was, ahm, strange,” he said for lack of a better word Sam would understand, “that they were taking care of a muggle-born now.”  
Sam still looked confused.  
“It has nothing to do with you Sammy, just old grudges.” Scorpius said quickly.  
Sam shrugged his shoulders, “Ok.” He sounded unconcerned.  
Scorpius wasn’t sure if this was because the child didn’t understand the severe moral dilemma, that came with standing on the wrong side of the war or if he really didn’t care. They surely had to revisit that topic when the boy was older.  
New years eve came and went with magical fireworks and left Sam with a faint hope for a better year. 

“Sam hurry up!” Astoria called up the stairs, “we are going to be late.”  
“Coming” Sam called back, before he rushed down the stairs, holding his backpack in his hand. Astoria had charmed it, so it would be lighter then it actually was. Astoria slipped in her shoes, as Sam put on his muggle jacket and his shoes, normally he was quite good in tying them, but today he was too nervous and his fingers weren’t still enough.  
“Can you tie them, please?” he said miserable and held out his feet towards Astoria.  
“Of course, sweetheart.” she said while kneeling down.  
“Are you nervous?” she asked.  
“Yes, a bit.” He confessed.  
She took his hand as they walked down the street. “It’s normal to be nervous on your first day, but I’m sure it will be fine.” She squeezed his hand reassuringly and he squeezed back. In front of the gate of the school, where other parents and their children said goodbye to each other, she leaned forward. The headmistress was waiting for them at the gate.  
“Can I have a hug, before I go?” she asked hopefully.  
Sam was glad she actually asked him to give her a hug, because he definitely wanted to, but he didn’t know how to ask for it. So he wrapped his arms around her neck and breathed in her elegant perfume. She gently squeezed him, and stroked his hair.  
“I’m proud of you. Have a nice day, darling. Draco will pick you up at 4, ok?” she waited for him to nod before she led him over to the headmistress.  
The two women shook hands and after that, the headmistress turned to smile at Sam.  
“Hello Sam, I’m Mrs. Martin, welcome at our school.” She said friendly, “I’m going to show you your new class.”  
Reluctantly he followed her over the schoolyard, looking back for Astoria who smiled and waved. When he disappeared inside and she couldn’t see him anymore she exhaled a shaky breath, before she slipped into a dark alley, just beside the school, where she disaperated with a quiet plop.

His class teacher was a nice looking young woman, that introduced herself to Sam as Mrs. Hudson.  
“And you must be Sam. You can take a seat next to William, over there.” She pointed to a desk in the third row where a blond boy was waving for him.  
Wordlessly Sam shuffled over to his seat.  
“Hi I’m Will.” The boy whispered and held out his hand in a very adult manner.  
Sam shook the hand. “I’m Sam.” He whispered back.  
Sam had the luck to be paired with someone likeable. During the first brake Will showed him everything and at lunch he asked Sam to sit with him and his two friends. He even stopped to asked questions after Sam told him reluctantly that he was living with his foster family and didn’t wanted to talk about it. After lunch they played football outside. 

When Draco picked him up, Will waved over, “See you tomorrow!” he shouted.  
“I see you made friends?” Draco asked Sam, who was walking next him.  
Sam smiled a little, “Yes, he’s sitting next to me in class.”  
“So do you like this school?”  
“The teacher is nice, and Will is nice too.”  
“Well, that’s good.”  
Draco poked the doorknob with his wand and the heavy door opened squeakily. He threw his cloak back on and help Sam out of his jacket.  
“Do you want some tea and something to eat?”  
Sam nodded and followed him into the kitchen.  
“Ally, can you make us tea, please?” Draco asked the house-elf, while he reached for the biscuit tin and placed it in the middle of the table.  
They drank their tea in silence and afterwards, Draco asked if Sam would like to play some game of chess, but the boy murmured something about homework and disappeared into his room.  
Draco shrugged his shoulders and unfolded his newspaper.

An hour later Sam came back into the kitchen, carrying two exercise books, a homework diary and lined them up in front of Draco. Lastly, he meekly placed a ruler and a pencil beside the books. Then he cautiously stood there, looking at Draco. Irritated he folded his newspaper.  
“Is this your homework? Do you want me to have a look at it?” something in Sam’s behaviour struck him as odd. It seemed like something rehearsed. Sam said nothing, he just looked at him with wide eyes. Draco sighed heavily.  
“Did you bring your homework down because you want me to look at it, or because you are used to have it looked over?” he asked for clarification.  
Sam looked down, “My Dad always wanted to look at it.” He whispered, Draco had to lean forward to hear him. Sam didn’t know, why he had brought his homework down, nobody had told him to. He had not been thinking, he had done it automatically.  
“Homework at your first day of school?”  
“It’s not much, just a bit of math and writing exercise.” Sam still spoke much too quietly.  
“Alright, let’s see.” Draco said, picking up the first notebook. He looked over the few exercises in basic arithmetics. “Very good. Not a single error in these.” He gave the exercise book back to Sam, who was fidgeting nervously with his shirt sleeves. The boy was noticeable relived. Draco couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on, he didn’t understand. Following his intuition, he asked: “Sam what is going on? Why are you so nervous?”  
Sam shrank back, but wasn’t answering.  
“Did your parents punish you for mistakes?” he asked as gently as he could.  
Sam blushed and looked down, but he still wasn’t answering.  
“You don’t need to be ashamed, it’s not your fault.” Draco said empathetic.  
Sam only bit his lip and shook his head, he didn’t want to talk about it, but Draco kept looking at him, and there was no place to hide from his questioning, grey eyes.  
Draco held out a hand to steady the trembling child, and instead of shying away, like he would have done months before, he gripped Draco’s hand tightly, sharp fingernails cutting into his skin.  
“It’s ok Sam, I wont hurt you, just breath.” Draco mumbled to calm the panicked child down, “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.”  
“I want to tell you, but I can’t.” Sam tried to explain, as the feeling like he was under water had declined a bit. “It makes me feel like I can’t breathe.”  
“I know, talking about some things can be really hard, but we like to know these things, so we can help you better.”  
Sam nodded and opened his mouth, but nothing came out.  
“Did they hit you?” Draco asked quietly.  
Sam nodded again and then looked over to the table. Draco followed his gaze. It was fixated on the ruler.  
Everything fell into place. “They hit you with a ruler?” he asked shocked.  
“Yes.” Sam’s voice sounded choked. “My hands.” He was crying silent tears now.  
Draco pulled him to his chest, working against his shameful resistance.  
“You can cry, Sam. It’s ok to cry. Merlin knows, you have enough reason to cry.”  
And finally, Sam gave up his self-restrain and sobbed, his face buried at Draco’s chest. Draco felt dampness soak into his robes, but he didn’t care. He rocked the small child, until he had cried himself tired. Draco didn’t know, for how long he had held the boy in his arms, but when Sammy finally calmed down, he picked him up and carried him into the library and sat him down in his favourite chair. Then he summoned a blanked and wrapped it around the boy’s shaking frame. Before he lit the fire, he fetched a mild calming draught and gave it to Sam.  
“Drink this, it will prevent you from getting a headache.”  
Grateful, Sam took the small vial and drank it down.  
“As for your homework; if you want me to, I will take a look at it. But you don’t need to be afraid, that I will punish you for errors. This is a promise, alright?”  
Sam nodded tiredly. He was worn out from his emotional breakdown.  
“You can sleep for a bit, I’ll wake you up, when Astoria comes home.” He tousled his hair and then sat down on the couch, so he could have an eye on the boy.


	16. New family members

Draco and Astoria were rolling their eyes simultaneously, as they heard Sam stomping up the stairs and slamming the door to his room. Lately everything was a cause for a fight. School, Homework, tidying up his room and therapy, were Sam’s favoured issues to start a fight over. But even if the never ending discussions were annoying, Astoria smiled at her husband and he knowingly smiled back. He reckoned it wasn’t easy to find parents,that were as happy as they were,about their child’s rebellious phase. Draco could recall a time, were every order to do something had provoked a defiant “No!” from Scorpius, that was when he was three or four. Now, it felt like they were back to that defiant phase again, this time with Sam. They secretly counted it as their greatest achievement so far, that Sam dared to answer back to them. So what, if they overindulged him. They were figuring, that he never felt safe enough before, to speak his mind, and hadn’t had his defiant phase when he was supposed to. Most of the times, after he had cooled down, he came to apologize to them anyway. 

Sunday after breakfast, Scorpius knocked at the door to his father’s study.  
Draco looked up, pushing his reading glasses up his nose.  
“Ah, good that you are here, can you help me with this stuff?” he gestured at his overfilled desk.  
Scorpius curiously looked over his father’s shoulder. “What do you want with an order form for a muggle paper?” he asked surprised.  
“Yeah, well, the other fathers are talking about politics all the time, in front of the school, you know, and it well…” he trailed of, somehow embarrassed, “and it looks stupid when I have nothing to say about it, so I thought I order this bloody news paper, but this order form is so complicated.” He complained.  
Scorpius tried hard to stifle a laugh. His Dad was totally oblivious to the fact, that he referred to himself as Sam’s father and was going lengths out of his comfort zone, he would never had dreamt of.  
“Don’t worry, I take care of it. Just give me the form. Since when do you need glasses, by the way?”  
Draco sighed, “I’m growing old. Did you want to talk to me?” he remembered that his son had knocked on his door.  
Scorpius took a deep breath. “I came to tell you, that I’m going to ask Elsa to marry me.”  
For two seconds Draco starred at him blankly, before he pulled him into a bone crushing hug.  
“She’s a great girl.” He said when he let him go again. “Did you tell your mother yet?”  
Scorpius shook his head, “No, not yet. But I’m going to find her now.”  
“I’m sorry, that I can’t give you your grandmothers engagement ring, we buried her with it. But you probably wouldn’t want to have it anyways.” Draco said sadly.  
Scorpius shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve bought one in an antique shop. Want to see it?”  
He took out a little black box and snapped it open, Draco looked at the small band with three little, but very pure diamonds.  
“She likes it unobtrusive.” He said nervously.  
“It’s beautiful Scorpius, I’m sure she will like it.”  
Scorpius had expected his mother to react emotional, when he told her, that he wanted to get married, but he didn’t expect her to start crying.  
“Shh, Mum, don’t cry please?” he was helplessly rubbing her back, trying to make her stop, when Sam came into the kitchen. He stood rooted to the ground.  
“Why is she crying?” he asked Scorpius accusingly, whom he had detected as the culprit, “What did you do to her?”  
“I didn’t do anything to her. Mum, could you please stop crying?”  
Astoria smiled at both of them trough her tears, “Don’t worry, you two, these are happy tears!”  
Sammy still looked suspicious. “What are you happy about?” he wanted to know.  
“Scorpius is getting married.”  
“I didn’t even ask her yet, what if she says no?” Scorpius was a bit overstrained by his mother’s enthusiasm.  
“Oh, she wont. She loves you.” Astoria said firmly.  
Dinner turned somehow into a small party, Sam quickly forgot that he was angry with Scorpius for making Astoria cry. He freely talked about school and told Scorpius proudly, that his teacher had complimented him on his art project. Sam was much more dependent on approval than Scorpius had ever been, were Scorpius had been fighting to be accepted in community in general, Sam only cared about to prove his worth to authority figures. Astoria and Draco had to be attentive, that Sam didn’t spend the night hunched over his school books, trying to learn as much as he could in advance.  
Where Scorpius had been hiding his insecurity behind an impervious façade, Sammy’s was right on display.  
“Sam, it’s time for bed now, you have school tomorrow.” Draco reminded him.  
Sam opened his mouth to protest, but he didn’t say anything. Not in front of Scorpius. Protesting only felt right, when it was just the three of them. Obediently he stood up and carefully pushed the stool back under the table. He set his plate into the sink and hugged Scorpius to say goodbye and goodnight.  
“I’m coming upstairs to say goodnight in five minutes, darling.” Astoria told him after he had said goodnight to Draco as well.  
Sam nodded and left the kitchen, but Astoria called him back.  
“Sammy? You’ve forgotten your snack.” She said gently.  
He looked at the apple and the madeleine packed in foil, that were lying on the counter. He blushed and shook his head. “I want to leave it here. That’s ok?” he asked shyly.  
“Of course you can leave it here, love.” Astoria smiled warmly at him.  
“But don’t put it away.” He pleaded, wondering if his decision, not to take his ‘snack’ with him, was the right one.  
“Sure, I tell Ally to leave it right there.” Astoria said calmly.

When she came to read him his bedtime story, he snuggled up to her.  
She kissed his head and breathed in the clean smell of his hair.  
“I’m very proud of you, you know? It’s very brave to try to move things forward on your own accord.”  
“Albus told me to try it.” He told her.  
“Yeah, but you are the one who has to do it. So, I’m proud of you.” She assured him.  
“Have you thought about what you want to do on your birthday? It’s only two weeks until then.”  
He shook his head; such requests still were too much for him.  
“It’s ok sweetheart, I’ll plan something nice.”  
She noticed how his eyes were beginning to fall shut, so she gave him a kiss and pulled the blankets up to his chest.

Draco eyed his wife, she was starring idly into nothing, her book open on her lap. She was thinking about something. He slipped into the place next to her and kissed her naked shoulder.  
“What are you thinking about?”  
She turned her head and smiled, she too, had aged, her long, honey blond hair had some strands of white in it and her skin was thinner, than it had been when she was twenty. But he had witnessed every change in her, and at every age he found her stunningly beautiful.  
“Well, I was thinking about our boys. It’s great to see them grow.” She said in her soft voice.  
He nodded, “Scorpius is getting married, starting a family of his own. And Sam is making progress as well.”  
She hummed in agreement.  
“You know,” he began a bit uncertain, “I was thinking, if we shouldn’t adopt Sam? Make him legally ours.”  
She silenced him with a kiss. “I was waiting for you to bring it up.” she looked as pleased, as a cat after a successful hunt.  
He chuckled at her pleased expression. “You are a right Slytherin.” He told her.


	17. Just to say goodbye

A week later, when Scorpius brought Sam home from a day out in muggle London, Draco and Astoria where waiting in the kitchen, wearing their “we just want to talk” faces. Sam quickly thought about the past two weeks and if he had done anything wrong, but he didn’t really come up with something. The hole in his new Jeans was fixed with magic and Astoria had assured him, that it was no big deal and she wasn’t angry. Yesterday, he even ate his broccoli without complaining. Scorpius was sitting down, so he was staying too.  
“Come on Sam, sit down. We want to talk to you about something.” Draco patted the chair beside him.  
So they really wanted to talk. Sam sat down on his usual chair, but he was too tensed to relax, so he sat at the very edge, swinging his feet nervously beneath him.  
“Sam, you are with us for nearly a year now…” Astoria kept on talking, but Sam couldn’t hear her properly. It was happening, now they were telling him, that they had enough of him and that he had to go back to the home or another family. "What do you think about that?"Astoria finished, looking expectantly at him.  
He somehow had forgotten how to breath, and now his head swam and he heard their voices from far away. His field of vision was darkened and blurry around the edges, he couldn’t see, Astoria’s face was just a white spot in front of him. Albus had called it tunnel vision and told him, that he was having a light panic attack when this was happening. He felt like he was about to pass out.  
Draco, who had been looking at him, the whole time Astoria was talking, saw what was happening:  
“He’s having a panic attack. He hasn’t heard a word you were saying.” He told Astoria. Then he took Sam’s hands in his and instructed him to breath.  
“Sam, don’t panic, you are getting enough air. Now, listen to me: Breath in. Hold it. Breath out. You can put your forehead on the table if you want.” He let go of his hands, and continued to give him a breathing rhythm until his breath was steady again. Sam weakly placed his sweaty forehead on the table top, feeling sick.  
“Are you ok?” Scorpius asked concerned, this was the first full blown panic attack he had witnessed. Thankfully they were short and weren’t happening too often. Sam nodded into the wooden table.  
“Come here, Sweetheart.” Astoria crooned. Sam stumbled from his place over to her, and let her pull him into her lap.  
“What were you scared of, darling?” she asked, embracing his tiny, too hot body.  
“That you wanted to send me away.” He answered honestly.  
“We will never send you away,” Draco told him seriously, “Quite contrary, we were going to ask you if you wanted to be adopted, to become our son, legally. What do you think about that?”  
Sam needed some time to process what Draco had asked him. “For ever and ever?” he asked, his peculiar eyes wide.  
Astoria smiled and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Yes, my darling, for ever and ever.” She promised him.  
“I think I would like that.” Sam said slowly.

“Something is bothering him.” Draco said to Astoria, as they were getting ready for bed.  
“I know, but I couldn't get it out of him.” She agreed worriedly. “Do you think it has something to do with the adoption?”  
“Yeah, I think so. But he seemed pretty excited at first.”  
“Do you think he has second thoughts?”Astoria wondered.  
Draco shrugged his shoulders, “I don't know.”

Indeed something was bothering Sam. A day after they had asked him if he wanted to be adopted by them, it suddenly had hit him, that this would mean, he would never see his parents again. He loved his new family with all his heart, maybe more than he had ever loved his parents, but somehow he was feeling sad at the thought of just never seeing them again, without the opportunity to say goodbye properly. 

Today it was Draco’s turn to pick up Sam from school. Again Sam were barely saying two words. He was uncharacteristic quiet. Almost like he had been when he first arrived.  
„Sammy?“ Draco leaned forward, so he could see the boy's eyes. „You know that you can talk to us about everything, right?“ all he got was an noncommittal shoulder shrug. “Or you can talk to Albus if you feel like you can't talk to us.” Again no acknowledgement. Draco sighed.  
“Can I go to my room?” Sam asked instead.  
“Sure.” Draco watched him go a bit helplessly. 

Sam had a plan. But when he told Will, who was his best friend by now, the other boy looked at him doubtfully.  
“Are you sure you want to do that?you’ll get yourself into a lot of trouble.”  
Sam pretended to be unconcerned and only shrugged his shoulders.  
“Why do you want to see them anyways?” Will asked “weren't they, like, really mean to you?” Will had drawn some conclusions out of the little Sam had told him about his life before the Malfoys.  
Sam’s face was distant, and Will knew it was pointless trying to convince his friend, that this was a pretty bad idea.  
“You just have to tell Mrs. Hudson, I went home after P.E because I felt sick.That’s all. Please?”  
Will gave finally in and nodded. “Ok, I’ll do it.”  
Sam gave him a toothy grin, “Thank you.”

Sam furtively placed the note on the kitchen table and then slipped out of the kitchen, he put on his shoes and waited for Draco to get ready. He breathed a sigh of relief, when they left the house, without Draco discovering the note. Astoria would find it, when she came from work, right before she would go to pick him up from school.  
Before his last class that day, he slipped through the gate, when he was sure that nobody saw him he started running down the street until he reached the underground station. It was a hot day and he carried his sweater over his arms. He didn't even need to change the train, he found a place to sit, right by the door, pressed against the glass, he just sat there and waited.. Nobody gave him a second glance. He nearly jumped, when he heard the familiar station was called out. He knew these streets, the little grey houses and he had been inside a few of them shops. There, where the benches were, he hung out with the older kids from his neighborhood, whenever they let him. He remembers the burning smoke of the cigarettes he had tried and how they had laughed when he had started to cough. The first sip of a beer, spitting it out immediatly. They weren't criminals, as his father had called them, just bored teenagers. Most of the times they were really nice to him.  
Sam had no feeling for time, he couldn't read the clock properly yet. So he was not sure if his father would be home or not. His mother mostly worked late, so she likely would be home. His father was a teacher at the college, just a few streets from their house.  
Sam turned left into the street were he used to live, just a few steps further and he could see his parent’s house. It was small and badly needed to be repainted. His Dad always complained about the costs of craftsmen nowadays, so it remained dirty grey. Sam’s heart fluttered in his chest and his stomach turned. Half was he thinking about turning around and running back to the safety of his new home. ‘Don't be a coward!’ He scolded himself. He had no idea why he was doing this, but he had the feeling, his mind only would come to a rest if he would see them again. Pressing his hands together he walked the last meters up to the front door. He had to remind himself to breath again, before he pressed the door bell.

The woman who opened the door was small, but not as fair as Astoria, she was younger but her eyes looked tiered. They were the same blue as Sam’s right one. Her light brown hair was tied back.  
Sam forced himself to smile at her.  
“Hi Mum.” He said as cheerful as he could muster.  
She only starred at him in shock.  
The same time, Astoria held a pice of paper in her hand, covered in Sam’s round, childlike handwriting and tried not to panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come on guys, don't be shy and leave comments, please!  
> Thank you.


	18. Fear

Astoria was frenetically thinking about what to do. She had little hope, that Sam still was at school, if he was smart enough to skirt magical wards, an ordinary gate was certainly no match for him. She apparated there anyways, nearly falling down the stairs in her hurry. Of course he wasn’t there. His class teacher looked at her alarmed, and told her he had gone home before the last class. She called over his best friend, who clearly had a bad conscience, the way he looked.  
“I’m sorry, I told him this was a bad idea, but he wouldn’t listen.” He told Astoria, close to tears.  
“It’s not your fault.” She comforted him, stroking his hair. Then she turned to Mrs. Hudson.  
“I’ll be in contact later, now I have to get my child back!” she said and left the young teacher in the middle of the school yard, quarrelling with her failure.  
Astoria rushed into the alley from where she usually apparated, barely taking her time to make sure, nobody would see her. Where should she go? She need an address. Albus had Sam’s files, so he would have the address. So, St. Mungos it was. She apparated straight into the lobby, and then cursed the slowness of the lift, as Albus office was on the top floor. She didn’t bother with knocking and burst in on a session. Albus patient, an elderly woman, cried out with shock. Albus jumped from his seat.  
“Astoria? What happened?”  
“Albus, I need Sam’s files. I need his parents address. Quick!” she gasped.  
Albus didn’t asked any questions and turned to his filing cabinet. His other patient was completely forgotten.  
“I’ll call Draco through the floo.” Astoria announced, before she threw the powder into the flames.

Sam’s mother blinked several times, before she closed her hand around his wrist and pulled him in.  
“Come on in.” she hissed, “I don’t want the neighbours to see you!”  
She pushed him forward into the tiny, but clean scrubbed kitchen.  
“What do you want?” her voice sounded askance.  
Sam was lost for words, and he shrugged his shoulders. “I just wanted to see you, Mum.” He hated that his voice sounded so tiny. For the first time she smiled at him. It was a short, wary smile but it made him feel better.  
He heard shuffling from the living room and then his fathers annoyed voice. “Mary, who was at the door?” he demanded to know, even before he reached the kitchen.  
“You!” he said in a low growl, when he spotted his son standing in the middle of the kitchen, his icy blue eyes narrowed. “What do you want, eh?”  
Sam suddenly felt weak, this was a bad idea.He tried to turn around and escape through the door, but his father took two big steps in his direction and grabbed his collar.  
“What do you want?” he asked again, shaking him with every word. “Answer me!”  
Sam only could stammer, “No..Nothing, please…please let go.”He begged.  
To his surprise he actually let go of him. “Sit down.” He ordered. Sam obeyed automatically.His father remained standing, towering over him.  
“You came for money. That’s what you are after, isn’t it?” his father suggested.  
Sam shook his head vehemently. “No!” He desperately tried to suppress the tears that were welling in his eyes. His father hated it, when he was crying.  
“What, came to mock us then?” Do you know what we have to endure over you? The whole neighbourhood is talking about us. Because of you, you little ungrateful bugger.” His father started to rant, talking himself into a rage. Sam could practically feel the anger radiating from him. How could he let himself think, this would go any other way? But it was not his fault. The Malfoys had told him that again and again, and Albus had told him too. He defiantly crossed his arms over his chest: “It’s not my fault! It is not!” he willed his voice not to tremble. “It’s your fault.” He accused his father, who stared at him in shock for talking back. Sam could see how his fathers jaw tensed and he clenched his fist. But he was not prepared for the slap in the face that send him reeling.  
“How dare you to talk back to me!” his father yelled, his face beginning to redden.  
Sam could hear his mother, begging for her husband to stop: “Quentin, don’t. Please stop.”  
“Shut up, you stupid cow.” He shoved her aside and she stood there watching, hand-wringing and crying.  
Sam had hit his head on the table, when his father had slapped him, and now there was a bleeding cut over his right eyebrow. He righted himself up and backed away into a corner, trying to protect his face from the furious blows. As through a badly tuned radio, he could hear the dishes rattle.  
“Don’t you dare to brake something again.” Again, his father had a hold of his shirt and was shaking his limp body. He could see his eyes. There was so much anger, but there also was something else, he had never seen on his father before, but he had seen it in the mirror, in his own eyes- fear. His father was afraid of him. He wondered if he would actually make it out alive,this time. In his mind he screamed for help, for Draco, for Astoria, for Scorpius, but magic was not done with wishful thinking. He was alone.

Astoria explained what had happened to Draco in two sentences, before he was standing beside her, impatiently waiting for Albus to find the right address. When he finally presented them the file with the address, they vanished through the floo without an other word, to get down into the lobby where they could apparate.

Sam didn’t hear the crack they made, when they appeared in the kitchen. He was lying on the floor, curled into a ball, making himself as small as possible, while his father was kicking him, shouting insults and how useless he was. His father was so deep in his blind rage that he didn’t hear or see, the things that were happening around him. Not even the high pitched scream from his wife.  
Draco and Astoria were taking in the scene that played for there eyes. Their precious little boy, being beaten into a bloody bundle, lying on the floor, crying out for help. Astoria’s normally soft eyes, were throwing sparks of pure hate.  
“Step aside” she hissed at the violent man in front of her. Startled, he stopped kicking the child and turned around. The sight of the witch and the wizard standing side by side, their fury barely tamed, was frightening.  
Astoria’s hair waved around her face and their robes billowed around them, as if they were standing in the middle of a storm, but there was not the slightest breeze in the cramped kitchen.  
“Who are you?” Quentin Carter stammered.  
Astoria took a step in his direction, her wand pointing at his chest.  
“We are Sam's rightful guardians. We have vowed to protect him from all evil.” She said in a low, quiet voice.  
“You have hurt him. For that you will pay.” She lifted her wand.  
“Astoria, don't.” Draco warned her. “We’re only here to take Sam.” He reminded her. Then he turned to Sam’s father. “Step aside, bastard.” He growled. “Don't think I have a problem with killing you.” He nonchalantly told the scared man,“but I won't touch you, for the boy’s sake.”  
Sam thought he was hallucinating, when he heard the familiar voices of his foster parents. They couldn't have come to safe him, now, could they?  
Draco kneeled down next to Sam, but the boy shied away from his touch, naturally, and whimpered.  
“Shh, Sammy, it’s me- Draco. Astoria is here too, we came to take you home.”  
Astoria had turned to the woman in the corner.  
“What kind of a mother are you? To let something like that happen to your child?” She asked disgusted.  
But Sam’s mother only shook her head, eyes wide in fear.  
“I’m going to pick you up now, alright?” Draco said softly to Sam, before he placed one arm under his legs and the other one under his arms. He made sure that Sam's head rested in the crock of his elbow. Then he stood up and carefully carried the injured child over to Astoria.  
“Where to?” She asked.  
Taking in Sam's condition, Draco decided: “St. Mungos.”  
Pressing the child to his chest as firmly as he could, without being afraid to do greater damage, Draco disappeared, and after she hatefully glanced at the two frightened, shaking people in the room, Astoria followed them.


	19. Happy Birthday

Sam was unconscious by the time a healer took care of him. Apparating was not the safest way to travel in his condition, but it was the fastest.  
First of all, there was a great confusion about what happened to Sam. Only after Albus was called to confirm their story, the Malfoys were cleared from the accusation, that they were the ones responsible for these injuries. After Draco had heard that Sam would be alright in time, he left to report the incident to the Ministry.  
When he came back, he was fuming. Astoria and Scorpius, who had been informed by Albus, were waiting in the corridor, in front of the room Sam was treated in.  
“It’s unbelievable, there is literally no law, that protects muggle born children! And they say we are living in a time of equality.” Draco was upset.  
“Does that mean, that he is going to get away with what he did?” Scorpius asked in disbelief.  
Draco nodded. “It seems like we could only do something if Sam would testify against him. And only in the muggle world.”  
“I don’t think he will do that.” Scorpius sat down at one of the uncomfortable chairs and propped his elbows on his knees and let his hands fall, in a defeated gesture, between his legs.  
“Why didn’t you let me…” Astoria was angrily glaring at her husband, “if anyone deserved to be crucioed, then it would be him.”  
“Sh, Astoria,” Draco was nervously looking around, “Don’t talk like that! You’ll never know who is listening.” Astoria and Scorpius were both looking slightly confused about Draco’s sudden display of paranoia.  
“We can not allow ourselves to act on impulse. You have to understand, that if we want to adopt Sam, they will look for any reason to deny it to us. What do you think the Ministry will do, if we attack some muggles? They will certainly not ask for our reasons. We have to strictly operate in our legal boundaries!” Draco made clear. “Yes, I want to see this man suffer, for what he has done to Sammy, but even more I want the boy to have a stable home, where he can feel save. And I couldn’t care less what happens to that scum, if only Sam is with us, safe and sound.”  
Astoria had unclenched her fists and nodded in agreement. Keeping their charge safe, had to be their first priority.  
That moment, the healer opened the door and gave them permission to enter the room. Sam was lying motionless in the small hospital bed, that still seemed too big for his tiny body. His lively eyes where closed and he was pale under the tan he had gotten from playing and flying outside.  
“When will he wake up?” Astoria asked, while softly stroking the cheek of the sleeping child. All the visible injuries were gone. The healer tiredly shook his head. “Don’t know. Maybe in a few hours, maybe a day or two.” He turned to Draco, “We took some pictures, before the bruises were fully healed. In case you need them.” He said bitterly.  
“Good. I just don’t know how helpful they will be. Apparently our only chance to get justice is to bring it to trial at a muggle court, so magic photographs are not really useful.” He explained.  
“Well, our patient was unconscious when these pictures were taken, so they are not moving.” The healer informed Draco. Before he left the room he turned around one last time.  
“Let me know if you need me as a witness, I will be glad to give testimony.” he said determined.  
Draco gave him something that could be considered a thankful half smile. Then they were left alone in the silence of the dimly lit room.

It was the second day Sam was lying unmoving in his hospital bed. Astoria and Draco had enforced that they could stay overnight too, just in case he would wake up in the middle of the night. They had placed his stuffed dragon beside him, but he was not wrapped around the toy, as usual. Astoria could hardly bare it, to see him so still.  
“I’m not hungry, Draco.” She said as he came back into the room with tea and sandwiches. She didn’t even lift her gaze from the sleeping child.  
Draco always had liked it, that his wife was so petite and frail, it made him feel like he actually was the strong one, and he could offer her protection and a shoulder to lean on. But he certainly not liked her tendency to stop eating when something was worrying her. At Scorpius worst times, he not only had to worry about his son, but his wife as well, losing pounds, she couldn’t afford to lose.  
“I know, but could you please eat it anyway? It doesn’t help him, if you disregard your health, love.” He told her, placing the cup of tea and the bread beside her.  
She huffed, but picked it up and took a bite. Only now, she felt how hungry she actually had been. She smiled at him.  
“Thank you, for looking out for us.” She included Sam and Scorpius as well.  
Draco kissed the top of her head. “You are my family.” He said simply. 

It was close to midnight, in half an hour Sammy would turn eight and he still showed no sign of waking up. Scorpius had been send home, having no legal rights to Sam, he could not get the healers exception, to let his parents stay, extended on himself. It was silent in the room and the whole corridor, Draco was dozing of every so often, only to jerk awake as soon as his chin sank to his chest.  
Astoria waved him over. “It’s midnight,” she whispered as if a louder sound would wake the child from his slumber. Draco bended over the boy and stroke back his unruly hair, before he kissed his forehead.  
“Happy Birthday Sammy. We are waiting for you to wake up.” he told him quietly.  
Astoria kissed him too. “Happy Birthday, darling. When you wake up, we will have your birthday party. You’ll like it.” She promised him. “And it will only be the first one of so many, you know?” tears were running down her face.  
“Please wake up, sweetheart.” She pleaded.  
Draco pulled her into his arms.


	20. Finn

“What I don’t understand is,why he did it, why did he go there?” Scorpius shook his head, looking over to the still unconscious child. “Why did he wanted to see them? When they mistreated him to the extend, that he is afraid of his own name.” Scorpius was referring to the expression of panic, whenever someone called Sam by his full name.  
“Scorpius,” Draco said, pinching the bridge of his nose, “parent-child relationships are very complicated. Of course he loves his parents, at least he thinks that he has to love them, and he doesn’t understand why they don’t seem to love him. He thinks it is his fault that they were acting abusive towards him. He wrote that he wanted to say goodbye to them, maybe he was looking for closure, maybe he hoped that they would realise that they missed him and they would be a family again. I can imagine he had quite a lot reasons to visit them.” Draco tried to find answers to the questions they all were asking themselves.

First he was aware of hushed voiced near him, and then that he was lying somewhere, with a thin blanket on top of him. When he tried to open his eyes, he felt someone touch his face and he heard the same person say: “He is waking up!”  
He knew the voice, that now was talking to him, words he couldn’t distinguish, couldn’t comprehend, but they were soft spoken, soothing. He gave up on trying to open his eyes, only listening to the voice. Slowly he could hear words forming out of the soft murmur.  
“Sammy, can you hear me?” and “Open your eyes, love” the last request was said so pleadingly, that he had to try again. He could feel his eyes open, but instantly he shut them tight again. It was too bright.  
“Scorpius, extinguish the light.” He heard another voice, deeper this time. The light was being dimmed, he could see it behind his eyelids. He tried to open them again, and this time it worked, they stayed open. He saw Astoria’s face floating above him. She placed her cold, gentle hands on both sides of his face.  
“Welcome back, Sammy.” She smiled at him.  
Turning his head slightly he could see Draco and Scorpius standing right behind her, their faces, too, were all smiles.  
Sam tested his voice: “Toria? Where am I?” he wanted to know.  
Her smile vanished and she looked down at him, very serious. “You are at St. Mungos. Do you remember what happened?”  
Sam took his time to think about it. He remembered taking the underground to Bromley, he remembered his mother, standing in the door, letting him in and after that he remembered his father, coming towards him. He nodded, “Yes, I remember.” His voice quivered.  
An eerie silence fell upon the room, until Astoria broke it again. “Well, love, you were injured pretty badly. The healers fixed you up in no time, but you had a concussion and your body was so exhausted that you were in a kind of coma and slept for the last two days.”  
“We are so glad, that you finally woken up.” Draco said softly.  
Sam reached for Astoria’s hands. “I’m so sorry, if I hadn’t…” but Astoria didn’t let him finish his sentence, she slid closer to him, her hands still caressing his face. “Shh Sam, it’s not your fault.” When she felt that he had calmed down a bit, she pulled back again.  
“Well Sam, it’s a special day today. You nearly slept through your birthday.” He mirrored her smile. “Happy Birthday, darling. We are so glad that you woke up.” she said again. “We love you so much.” It was the first time she told him, that they loved him. And even if the heat that rushed through his body was not a bad feeling, he had to look away, he couldn’t hold her gaze. She kissed his temple, before she stepped back and gave Scorpius and Draco room, to wish him a happy birthday as well. They promised him, that they would have his birthday party, when he would be released from the hospital.  
After that a healer came to check up on him. He said, that probably the day after tomorrow, he could go home. Another nurse came with something to eat for Sam and Scorpius was bid to go, what he did, with much complaining. Soon Sam was yawning and fighting to keep his eyes open.  
“You can go to sleep; we will be here when you wake up.” Astoria told him.  
“Can you sing for me?” he asked her.  
“Of course, sweetheart. Which one?”  
“The one with the ghost.” He requested.  
She nodded and quietly began to sing his favourite ballad, about a ghost who was watching his loved one from the other side. Sam curled around his dragon, his eyes on Astoria, admiring her, until his focus started to drift of and he fell asleep.

After two more days in the hospital, Sammy finally could go home. It was a Saturday morning, when they flooed home. Stumbling into the entrance hall, Sam was amazed by the big banner that floated under the celling, saying ‘Welcome home Sammy!’. He kept on staring at it, while he was blushing like mad. He never imagined that coming home could feel like that, safe and protected, like nothing ever could hurt him here. Every movement, like kicking of his shoes and placing them neatly next to Scorpius’, felt so familiar. His things were having a permanent place here and the house and its inhabitants were acknowledging his existence, he was a part of it. This was his home! His thoughts were interrupted by Astoria, who had placed a hand on his shoulder.  
“We want you to meet someone.” She said mysteriously.  
Sam’s stomach dropped, he hated meeting new people, worried, he pressed his hands together.  
“Don’t worry, love, I’m sure you’ll like him.” she said, after she noticed how uncomfortable he looked.  
Unconvinced, he followed her up the stairs, to his room. This was really strange, why would he meet a stranger in his room? His room was just how he left it, except that Scorpius and Draco were both there, but other then these two, nobody else was in the room. Scorpius was holding a woven basket on his lap. He carefully put it down to the ground and sat himself next to it, in his typical, cross-legged pose.  
“Sam, come over here.” He patted the spot next to him. Sam was utterly confused and had no idea what was going on, but he obeyed without hesitation. When he was close enough he could see what was in the basket. On a light blue blanket, there was a little black kitten, sleeping soundly. Sam stared at it in awe.  
“Go on, you can touch it. It’s just an ordinary kitten, not a dangerous magical creature.” Scorpius encouraged him. Carefully Sam stroked the soft fur with his index finger. It opened its eyes and drew its head back, but after a few seconds it curiously came closer again and cautiously sniffed at his finger. Sam tried to hold as still as possible, although the short whiskers were tickling him. The cat seemed to like him well enough and began to purr, nudging his tiny head against his fingers. Sam was so captivated that he was oblivious to the pleased looks that the adults were exchanging.  
“Now, you only have to choose a name for him.” Scorpius told Sam, who looked at him a bit wary. If they wanted him to choose his name, did it mean they would keep it and that it was his cat?  
“I can choose the name, really?” he asked.  
Scorpius sensed the unspoken question and cleared up every misunderstanding: “Well, it’s your cat, if you want him, so you should choose the name.”  
Sam’s smile was blinding. “Of course I want to keep him!” he stated excited. Then he thought about the name. “If it is a he, I’ll call him Finn.” He finally decided.  
Scorpius lifted Finn out of his basket and placed him in Sam’s lap.  
“That’s a nice name, I think it suits him.” Astoria said, bending down to scratch the cat behind his ears, what earned her a short lick over her hand.  
“How come, I never got a cat for my birthday?” Scorpius complained playfully.  
“Well, you had this annoying puffskein. Remember?” Draco reminded his son. “But, Hermes... uhm, accidently ate it. And after, that you didn’t want another pet.”  
“Ah, I remember. I hated that stupid owl!”  
Sam was looking at Scorpius with wide eyes; “The owl ate your pet?” he asked horrified, holding his hands protectively over the kitten.  
“Yes, but don’t worry, kittens are too big, to be attractive owl food.” He eased Sam’s worries.  
“Where does he sleep?” Sam asked.  
“I don’t know, wherever he likes to. Cats usually find their own places.” Draco explained. “In a few weeks he can go outside, we are going to install a cat flap, so he can go in and out, whenever he wants to.”  
“Well, it’s time for lunch. Sammy, please set Finn down and go wash your hands, you can play with him later.”  
Reluctantly he did as he was told, and the cat disappeared under the bed, playing with the enchanted toy mouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are always welcome!!


	21. Because we love you

I would suggest, you’ll take a nap.” Astoria looked at Sam, “The guests are coming around four and if you want to, you can stay up late tonight.”  
He looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t muster the courage to do so.  
She tilted her head to the side.“What is it, love?” she asked gently.  
He was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, “Can you stay with me?” he asked shyly, eyes on the floor and blushing. Draco rose his eyebrows, and exchanged a look with Astoria. This dependency was new, normally Sam was very independent. He hardly asked for help or affection so openly.  
“Well, I could use a nap too.” She looked at Scorpius and Draco. “If you two are ok with starting without us?”  
Scorpius shrugged his shoulders,“Sure Mum.”  
She nodded “Then maybe you could wake us in an hour?”

She laid herself beside him, dragging the thin blanket over his body. His back was turned towards her and she nearly could touch his shoulder blade with her outstretched hand. He tossed around a little, but quickly fell asleep. Her chest ached with the love and the overwhelming need to protect this little being.

They had brought the long kitchen table into the garden and had decorated the trees with some garlands. Scorpius had built a big blanket tent between the trees in the back of the garden. The table was overloaded with food. Sam felt guilty when he saw what they were doing to make his birthday special. He was sure, that Astoria had planed things differently, but her plans were most likely ruined by his stupid, ungrateful actions. Embarrassed, he stood in the kitchen door, leading into the garden, taking in what they were doing for him. He had been nothing but a bother for the last week, and still they were doing nice things for him. When Astoria stepped behind him, she noticed the stiff posture of his shoulders. After nearly a year living with him, she knew he was trying hard to restrain himself from crying. She put a hand on his shoulder and he startled miserably, nearly knocking his head on the doorframe. When he turned around, she could see the tears shining in his eyes.  
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” she asked concerned.  
He bit his lip, the tears were flowing over now. She kneeled down beside him and pulled him into a hug. Between the sobs, he tried to talk, but she could hardly understand him. She only could hear ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I don’t deserve it’. She rubbed his back until he had calmed down a bit.  
“Now tell me, why are you so upset?” she wanted to know.  
He looked down at his hands, “I feel bad, because you do so many nice things for me when you should be angry with me!”  
“Why should we be angry with you?”  
“Because I ran away and got in trouble.”  
“Well yes, you did indeed run away. But even though we wished that you had talked to us, we understand why you did it. And what happened back there, was not your fault, love!” she said emphatically.  
“As we told you before, you can talk to us about everything. There always is a solution to every problem, and even if you can’t see it for yourself, together we can work out everything, alright?”  
Sam nodded, his sparkly eyes downcast. She tipped up his chin and forced him to look at her.  
“And we do nice things for you because we love you very much. Do you understand me?” she quickly pressed a kiss on his forehead. One of his big smiles, that she loved so much, brightened his features.  
“Thank you!” he hugged her tightly, before he ran into the garden.

The first guest to arrive was Will. After he held out his present for Sam to take, an awkward silence grew between the boys. Finally Sam took heart and apologized to his best friend.  
“I'm sorry I made you lie. I know you got in trouble over it.”  
Will shrouded his shoulders dismissively and looked Sam up and down.  
“Are you alright? What happened?” He asked in a strange mix of concern and curiosity.Sam looked away.  
“I don't want to talk about it.”  
Will’s frown deepened, but he let it drop. By now he was used to it, that Sam was keeping things from him.  
“Are you coming back to school? It’s only a few days before summer break.”  
“Probably, I don't know yet. Come on, I'll show you something.” Sam walked Will over to the tent, not longer willing to talk about himself. The played, that they were robbers, living in the forest. Astoria had invited four of his other friends from school and soon they switched to play cops and robbers.  
Albus arrived with his girlfriend and Elsa came straight from work.  
Sam never had had so much fun on a birthday. His parents would never allow him to invite friends. His mother had baked cookies for him, to take to school, but otherwise his birthdays were not really celebrated. After the cake, they persuaded the adults to play football with them. Unsurprisingly the boys won, although Scorpius was not half bad at it. 

Finally, the parents were showing up, picking up their children. Only Will’s mother stayed for a piece of cake. There was something strange about those people, she couldn't quite place. After she and Will had left as well, the adults were breathing a sigh of relief. It was so hard not to slip up, not to use magic around those muggles or to say anything that they would find strange. It was getting late, and when twilight fell upon the garden, the trees began to glow, because Scorpius had placed fireflies on the branches. Sam rested his head on Scorpius shoulder, following the conversations dozily. 

He woke after a nightmare, afraid and shivering. He must have tossed around a lot, because his blanket had fallen on the floor. And even if it had been a warm summer night before, now the room was quite cold. He had dreamt about a fire and that he had lost Astoria and Draco somewhere in the burning house.  
He tried to calm himself down, with the breathing techniques that Albus had shown him, but it was no use. On all fours he crawled to the edge of his bed and quietly hopped down. Finn was sleeping on the windowsill, a tiny ball of fur, purring deeply as Sam softly stroked him behind his ears. He opened his green eyes and yawned so profoundly that he could see his tiny white teeth and his pink tongue. He kept on stroking the cat, waiting that the purring would have a calming effect on him, like it usually did, but he still felt jittery.  
He knew it was just a stupid dream, but it had scared him nonetheless. The urge to make sure that they were still there, peacefully asleep in their bedroom, carried him down the hall. Uncertainly he stared at the door to their bedroom, not sure if he should enter, to reassure himself or if he should just turn around and go to bed again. The door was just ajar, so he decided that he could risk a quick look, without even waking them. Carefully not to make any noise, he slipped trough the gap into the dark room. He stood there blinking, trying to make out something in the rooms half darkness.  
“Sam?” Astoria's voice sounded sleepy, “bad dream?” She squinted to get a better look at the little, forlorn figure by the door. He nodded, before he remembered that she probably couldn’t see him in the dark.  
“Yes,” he whispered, not wanting to wake up Draco as well.  
“Come over here,Sammy” Astoria lifted the blanket and patted the mattress. He could see her white nightdress shimmer in the dark. He was confused, did she really mean that he should crawl into the bed beside her? He had heard of kids, sleeping in their parents beds when they were afraid or scared of something and he had seen it on the telly, IKEA advertising or something, one happy family, altogether on a Sunday morning, when the children came to wake their parents. But he never would have dreamed about climbing into his parents bed and to cuddle with them. How jealous he had been at the kids in that commercial, how he wished this could be his family.  
She sensed his inner conflict. “It’s ok Sammy, Scorpius used to do this all the time, when he was your age.”  
This finally convinced him that it really was alright to slip into the warm space that she offered. Draco was only half awake, but hummed in agreement. He could feel Astoria sliding closer to him and he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer, so that her back rested against his chest. How long hadn't they slept like this? It was true that Scorpius often had crawled into their bed in the middle of the night, searching for comfort. And Sunday mornings they usually woke up to a little blond boy, not very carefully, plopping down between them. He had loved these lazy Sundays, when they lied in bed, making plans for the day. With his little family together like this, he didn't care about the world outside. How he had missed these moments, when life felt perfect, just for a while. After a few minutes Draco fell asleep again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the last two chapters were not too boring, but I didn't wanted to throw my protagonist from one catastrophe into another. I promise that the next chapter will do something for the plot.
> 
> Please take a bit of your time to review, constructive criticism is very much appreciated...
> 
> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the story so far ?!


	22. Court day

After countless talks to the police and social workers, their case was finally accepted by the Crown Prosecution service and Quentin Carter was charged with the allegation of child abuse.  
When Sam woke up that morning, he felt sick. He hadn’t slept well at all; when he fell asleep in the end, it was simply out of exhaustion. Today was the first day of court; the charges would be read and he had the slight hope that his father would plead guilty, just so this would be over soon. He regretted agreeing to press charges, he only did it because it seemed important to all the adults. All he wanted was to wait for the memories to fade and for the pain to be over, never to see him again, not even think of him. It finally was Albus who convinced him that he would not simply be able to forget, but maybe he could draw a line under it and get at least a tiny bit of justice.  
The mood was sombre as they met around the kitchen table for breakfast. Non of them were having an appetite and breakfast soon was over. Astoria helped him dress, not that he really needed her help, but he was glad about her reassuring presence.  
“Don’t be afraid, we are here. You are not alone!”  
These words had become some kind of mantra. Draco and Astoria were with him every step of the way, every talk they had had with the police or their lawyer. Being there, holding him, letting him cry in their arms, telling him how much he was loved and that they were there. That he could rely on them. Nothing stayed a secret anymore, now, after these strained weeks, building a case, they knew everything. After the first three times sitting in front of strangers,being ask questions he didn’t even wanted to think of the answers, struggling with words, he became numb. After that he was answering the repetitive questions almost automatically.

Sam was fidgeting nervously on the uncomfortable bench in the court room. His heart was beating so fast, that he could feel it pounding against his ribcage. A door opened in the back and two men accompanied his father to his seat. Sam couldn’t see his face, but his figure and the way he moved he knew so well, it sent waves of nausea through his stomach. He seemed thinner than before, but he couldn’t be sure. Then his father turned around and looked directly at him. Sam jerked back. His face looked horrible, his cheeks were hollow and his complexion ash grey, his usually bright blue eyes were bloodshot. Something flickered in his eyes when he starred at his son, but then his unsteady gaze moved on to Sam's left were Astoria was sitting and then in a split second to his right, were Draco was holding his hand. His face distorted into a mask of absolute horror and to everyone’s surprise he opened his mouth and began to scream, a horrible high pitched tone of pure terror. Apparently his feet gave up and he ungracefully sank to the floor, still screaming, covering his head with his arms and hands. The judge was the first one to recover from her shock and shouted for the bailiff to remove the obvious unwell man from her courtroom. He was half carried, half dragged out of the room again. Even as the heavy door was closed again, they could still hear him scream in the corridors. The only ones that were not breaking into agitated whispering were Draco, Astoria and Sam. Sam was shell-shocked. He had no idea what was going on, while an evil smile was playing on Draco’s lips. Astoria only was concerned about Sam and didn’t pay attention to her surroundings. The room went quiet again, when the judge slammed down her gravel and demanded silence. With the promise to further investigate the unusual incident, she dismissed everyone.  
Their lawyer came over to them, looking a bit dishevelled and confused.  
“I’m sorry, I have no idea what is going on. The accused seemed to have some kind of breakdown. I will be in contact when I know more.” He hastily bid a goodbye to the Malfoys and rushed out of the courtroom.

Only two days later, they got a letter from him, asking for a meeting on Friday at his office. Sam had recovered from his shock; he was totally calm when they entered the office. He didn’t like it, it was large and brightly lit with neon lamps, everything was expensive and the furniture consisted mostly of black leather and shiny metal. The lawyer was a tall man, with broad shoulders, who looked more like he was born to play hockey or American football than to be a lawyer. But Sam liked him, because he was nice to him, although he talked to loud, and he was very determined to do his job right.  
After he’d given Sam juice to drink and coffee to the adults, he heavily sat down, pushing some files and letters over the table towards them.  
“It looks like we don’t have a case anymore.” He informed them.  
No one said anything, they just looked at him expectantly to elaborate the situation. Sam was playing with the little tin race car, the lawyer had given him, apparently not listening.  
“Well, Mr. Carter was brought into a hospital, after he had his breakdown in the courtroom last week. It seems,” he stopped talking and looked over to the boy, who was pushing the toy around, “it seems, that he has had a psychotic episode, and immediately was admitted into a mental hospital. The doctors think it could be schizophrenia and some form of paranoia. He hears voices and hallucinates, and he tells everyone that witches and wizards are real and he talks about people who can appear and disappear into thin air." He made a face that illustrated just how crazy this prospect was. "They think the illness could have been triggered by his increased consumption of alcohol and his abuse of sleeping pills.” He told Draco and Astoria.  
“What does that mean for our case?” Draco asked, unimpressed.  
“Hard to tell, momentarily he is not in the condition to be on trial. He is certifiably insane." He shook his head, “And I have been given some prognoses that it might stay this way.”  
“What about his mother?” Astoria interfered.  
The lawyers face became even more wrinkled. “Nothing new, last our detective could find out was, that she visited her sister in Edinburgh. She told her, that angles were watching over her son. Her sister said, that she seemed happier than in the last ten years. But she disappeared again after a few days, without telling her sister where she would go. Our detective had a lead, that she returned to England and joined a religious sect, somewhere in south England. But he couldn’t find her yet.” He admitted to their failure.  
“That means, we have no case until further notice?" Draco asked again. Their lawyer shrugged his shoulders. "That's what it looks like now. And if you ask me, by the sound of it, I'll doubt that you will have a case against him ever again."

Astoria and Draco both raised from their seats.  
"Then we are done here." Astoria said and held out her hand for the lawyer to shake. He took it and held it a bit longer than necessary.  
"I'm sorry about the outcome, Mrs. Malfoy" he said apologetically.  
"At least, this spares Sam from having to testify against his father." She said, pulling her hand back.  
Draco too, offered his hand to the lawyer and shook it with a genuine thankfulness, that was untypical for him. He touched Sam at the shoulder to indicate that they were leaving. Sam hopped down from his chair, well-behaved placing the model car, which he had been playing with, on the table.  
The lawyer smiled at him, gently. "You can keep it if you want."  
Sam nodded and took the toy in his hand again. "Thank you." he said timidly and graced the lawyer with a smile.  
"Bye Sam, take care!" He said goodbye to the boy he had taken to his heart.  
Sam waved at him, already by the door, holding Astoria's hand. They were nearly out of the door, when something came to his mind: "Should I keep on looking for his mother?" He wanted to know.  
Draco shook his head. "No, now that we aren't going to court, we don't need her as an possible witness.Thank you." And with that he closed the door behind him.

Back at home, they gathered around the kitchen table. After they gave Scorpius a short update on the situation, Draco leaned towards Sam. "Do you understand what is going on?" he asked seriously.  
Sam shook his head.  
"Well, your father fell ill, and now he's too sick to be taken to court." Draco tapped Sam's arm, being a bit worried about the child's apathetic behavior.  
Sam looked up at him, "Will he get better soon?" he asked in a tone Draco could not quite place.  
"No, love. It's an illness of the mind. And the doctors say that he is very,very sick. He hears and sees things that aren't there." He tried to explain.  
Suddenly Sam smiled. "He tells everyone that magic is real, so people think he's crazy."  
Draco smiled back "I think, seeing us that day pushed him over the edge." He admitted.  
Sam was silent for a while before he asked:"Where is he now?"  
"They brought him to a mental hospital, but I don't know which one." Astoria said. "Are you alright, sweetheart?" She asked concerned.  
Sam nodded tentatively, "Does that mean I don't have to see him again?" "I highly doubt that he will be released soon."  
"Okay" Sam said simply. After that he was silent for a while, trying to figure out how to express the conflicted feelings about all the things he just learned. "I don't want him to be sick..." he made a pause, "but,...but" he didn't finish, because he couldn't find the right words.  
Astoria caressed his hand with her thumb.  
"But you feel relived anyway?" She asked softly.  
He nodded with his head hanging down.  
"And you feel bad for thinking like that?"she guessed.  
He nodded again. Then he felt her soft hands on his chin, forcing him to look at her.  
"Listen to me, Sammy" she said sternly, "non of this is your fault, and you don't have to feel bad for being relived that you never have to see him again if you don't want too. It's perfectly normal to feel this way, after all what he has done to you. You are not a bad person for thinking like that, alright?"she waited till he nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this outcome will satisfy my readers.  
> I don't mean to stigmatize mental illness, I just felt it was a realistic thing to happen. Also, I had been asked to make it painful; I believe that the mind turning against oneself, is one of the most painful things one can experience.
> 
> As always, please take your time to review.  
> Thank you for reading, I hope you all are still enjoying this fanfic.


	23. Finally a Malfoy

Draco cursed when he saw his own image in black and white, hastily trying to walk out of the picture frame, left from him Astoria, Sam in the middle. The picture had been taken two days before, when they were entering the ministry, with the intention to sign the final documents for Sam’s adoption. Of course the appointment had been delayed. Simply an act of harassment, if anyone asked him.  
“Couldn’t bloody Potter pull a stunt this week?” he mumbled to himself.  
He honestly hadn’t dreamt, that one day he would wish it was Potter instead of him, who was in the paper. At least the lurid article only took page three and not the front page. Fuming, he was reading the article for the fourth time. The headline read: Former Death Eater Draco Malfoy fighting to adopt muggle-born child! It looked like the headlines from the cheep muggle-magazines you could buy everywhere. Draco curled his lips in disgust.  
At least they clarified in the article, that he had been acquitted of all accusations. If his father could see him now, Draco was sure he would turn over in his grave. He shook his head, to get rid of these haunting thoughts. He decided a long time ago, that he wouldn’t care what his parents would possibly be thinking about him and his life decisions, if they were still alive. Everything he was doing, he was doing for his family. His wife was the only one, that had been on his side throughout months and years of darkness. People thought, that the war had changed him, and it was true in a way, but the war had brought nothing good, only the realization that he was indeed not the centre of the world and his name would never again protect him from harm or grief. In his opinion, this weren’t realizations he would describe as particularly good. No, what really had changed him, was his decision to find his happiness in the tiny, private space that was his family. From Astoria he had learned what true loyalty meant and holding his son for the first time, had brought a tenderness into his heart, he never thought could poses. And now Sam- his ability to trust in them and his development into a lively, playful child amazed him every day.  
His own parents would never be able to understand, how everything he was raised to believe in and truly did believe in, could just turn into the opposite and vanish behind more important believes.  
‘At least I do look good!’ he thought, while folding up the paper, his vanity just as strong, as it used to be.

Scorpius was nervously twiddling at his wedding band, his new bad habit since he was married. It annoyed Astoria to no end. Well, it was not as bad as him chewing at his fingernails like he used to, but it still made her nervous.  
“Scorpius, love, could you please stop fiddling with your ring? You’re making me nervous too.” She said as gently as she could.  
He looks up, “Sorry Mum,” he said apologetically and put his hands into his pockets, but after a while he started turning on his ring again, until Elsa took his hand in hers and rubed comforting circles in his ball of the thumb.  
Currently they were all waiting outside of a small office in one of the many floors of the ministry of magic. The office belonged to one Rose Rosewitt, who was responsible for adoption in the magical world. She had insisted to talk to Sam alone, but after a bit back and fourth she had allowed that at least Albus as his therapist and earlier carer, could accompany him. Sam thought she was going to ask the same questions everyone else did about his past, but after she had crossed off some points she had on a list in front of her, her soft tone changed into something harsher when she started to ask questions about the Malfoys. She asked about what happened when the Malfoys came to rescue him from his father’s abuse. She was asking again and again if he was sure that they hadn’t hexed him, until Albus interfered and told her that everything already had been under investigation. She shot him a furious glance before she moved on and asked questions about his daily routine. Every answer seemed to displease her more and when he told her that yes, he was indeed visiting a muggle school, she looked like as if she was about to pass out. With each question she seemed more aggressive and Sam felt more and more intimidated and soon only gave her monosyllabic answers.  
“What do you know about dark magic?” she asked him.  
Sam only starred blankly at her, he didn’t understand what she wanted from him.  
“Mrs. Rosewitt, I don’t think this is an appropriate subject to ask an eight-year-old about.” Albus said sharply.  
She turned to him and clenched her jaw. “Well Mr. Potter, I’m just doing my work. You can’t expect me to sign the adoption papers without asking these kind of questions, when one of the families that were known to serve the dark side for generations, are trying to adopt a muggle-born.”  
Albus rose from his chair, “The war is long over, the Malfoys moved on. All they are trying to do, is to give this boy a home.” He placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder, as he saw that the boy was about to well up, confused and frightened.  
“Nobody ever cared for him like they do. The Malfoys are his chance of a loving family and a real home. You wouldn’t not stand in the way of that, would you?” he nearly sounded pleading.  
“I know that you are friends with Mr. Malfoys’ son. It had been in all papers back then.” She said accusingly to Albus.  
“Yes, I’m friends with Scorpius, but I was responsible for Sam, before he even met the Malfoys and I would never have brought him to them, if I hadn’t been a hundred percent sure he would be in good hands there. I once did the mistake of placing him with an unfit family, I would not make the same mistake twice.”  
Her eyes were softer when she looked at Sam again. “Do you really want to stay with them?”  
Sam nodded eagerly. She sighed and told Albus to open the door and let them in. Seconds later the small office was cramped with all them members of the Malfoy family. Sullenly Mrs. Rosewitt prepared the papers for Draco and Astoria to sign. After they had put their names down were the older witch pointed out, they all were braking into loud chattering. All of them were hugging Sam one after another, and finally, even Mrs. Rosewitt was convinced that she had done the right thing.  
When Scorpius pulled Sam in his arms, he said: “I always wanted to have siblings. Is it okay if I call you my brother from now on?”  
Sam blushed, he also had always wished he would have an older brother who could protect him, so he nodded shyly.  
“Great.” Scorpius exclaimed before he righted himself himself up again, “Let’s go home!”

The rest of the day passed in high spirits, turning into a celebration. It was long after midnight when Albus finally said goodbye and flooed home, Scorpius and Elsa were staying in the guestroom and Sam was lying in his bed looking up to the stars on his celling, and for the first time in his life, he was falling asleep smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you are enjoying this, I would love to know what you are thinking about this, so please take a bit of your time to review. Thank you for reading!!


	24. Corvus

Astoria was helping him with his reading homework, while Draco was busying himself with the newspaper. Now, that he wasn’t afraid of being punished for mistakes, reading aloud no longer was threatful task for Sam.  
“Very good, Sammy,” Astoria praised him, “You are getting really good.”  
Sam smiled and closed his books, all of them newly labelled, now reading Samuel Malfoy. He looked around in the sunlit kitchen, the bright sunlight of the beginning spring was illuminating the colourful drawings that were pinned everywhere in the kitchen. Mostly they were his drawings, Astoria was pinning every new one to the walls, with sticking charms and undying enthusiasm. Between the drawings there were photographs, mostly of Scorpius at various ages, but some of him as well. He particularly liked the one from their weekend trip to Brighton a few weeks ago, they were all standing on the pier and he was riding on Scorpius’ shoulders, the big wheel blinking in the background.  
Sam was taking this moment of quietness to do something that had been lying on the tip of his tongue for months now, but he hadn’t been courageous enough to get it out yet.  
“Mum,” he said, tasting the word carefully, like he was trying one of these, very suspicious looking, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans.  
Astoria’s head shot up and she looked at him warily, not sure if she had heard right. Draco was folding his paper quietly, waiting for what was about to happen.  
“Mum,” Sam said again, looking directly into Astoria’s pale blue eyes, “there is a football game at school, on Friday. Can you come?”  
Astoria nodded slowly, “Of course I’ll come, sweetheart.” She said in a choked voice, clearly overwhelmed with emotion.  
Sam turned to Draco, who was watching the scene before him quietly.  
“Can you come too, Dad?” he nervously searched Draco’s face for any kind of rejection, but he could find non, instead Draco smiled warmly at him.  
“Sure, son.” His voice was warm and steady.  
Astoria clandestinely wiped away the tears that were forming in her eyes, but she was not fast enough for Sam not to notice.  
“Are you crying because of me?” he asked horrified.  
“No…yes,” Astoria was smiling through her tears, “I’m just overwhelmed that you called me Mum. I’m so happy, you know?”  
For Sam it didn’t make much sense that someone would cry when they were claiming to be happy, but it wasn’t the first time that she was doing this. He awkwardly padded her arm until she stopped crying again.

Draco was wrapping the blanket tighter around Sam’s shoulders, to keep him warm. Even though spring was arriving, the nights still were cold. They were sitting at the bench in the very back of the garden, staring at the starry night sky, waiting for falling stars, that would be visible that night.  
They already had seen five falling stars and Sam was getting tired, Draco could tell by the way the small body by his side leaned more into him and was getting heavier by the minute.  
“Do you want to go inside? I can tell that you are nearly falling asleep here.” He asked.  
He felt Sam nod and turn his face towards him.  
“Can you carry me?” he asked timidly, his face a light spot in the dark and the few lights reflecting in his eyes.  
Of course Draco couldn’t refuse and picked him up, still wrapped in the blanket.  
He groaned, “Oh boy, you’re getting heavy. I’ll not be able to carry you around much longer.”  
Sam rested his head on Draco’s shoulder, “Dad?” he asked.  
Draco’s heart skipped a beat, it was a few weeks now that Sam was calling them Mum and Dad, but Draco was not used to it yet, so every time Sam said it, something was happening with him.  
“Yes son?” he asked back, encouraging Sam to speak.  
“Can I have a Starname too?”  
“A Starname?” Draco was confused.  
“Like you and Scorpius.”  
Draco laughed when he understood. “Of course you can have a Starname, it is family tradition, after all. We are going to choose one for you, first thing in the morning.” He promised.

In his study Draco had laid out several astronomy cards with all the star constellations around the year.  
“These are the constellations that you can see around the month of your birthday.” He showed Sam a few cards, “Come, have a look at them.” But to his surprise Sam shook his head.  
“I want one from now.” He said.  
“You mean, one that you currently can see in the sky?” Draco asked.  
Sam nodded. “Well, that would be this card here.” He flattened the said card and they both studied it. Sam was tracing the lines and the names with his fingers. Draco just thought how endearing his concentration was, when Sam’s finger came to a hold and he tipped at something. Draco had to get his glasses, so he could see at what Sam was pointing exactly.  
“Corvus.” He said, “The Raven. Great choice.” He smiled at Sam’s happy face. “Let’s ask your mother what she thinks about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story slowly is coming to an an end. So please review and let me know if you liked it. Thank you for reading!


	25. Eleven

On the 3rd of July, the sun was shining again, finally, after two weeks of constant rain. Draco arranged the table in the back of the garden, under the shadow of the apple trees. Currently he was busy with keeping Finn away from the food and Scorpius’ voice coming from behind, startled him.  
“Uh, I think Corv would be very cross with you, if you’d hex his cat.” Scorpius said amused.  
Draco turned around. “But maybe it would teach that stupid animal not to steal our food all the time. Hello Scorpius.” He said and took a step around the table.  
“Hello princess.” He smiled at his granddaughter, who was bouncing impatiently on her father’s hip, extending her chubby arms to her grandfather.  
Scorpius set his daughter down and she ran to her grandfather as fast as she could, without falling.  
“Grandpa” she shouted and threw herself into his arms, giggling when he picked her up and spun her around.  
Scorpius placed the cake he had brought with him, on the table. Mira stalked off to her sandbox, that was placed under the left tree.  
Scorpius took a seat and Draco sat down across from him.  
“So where is our birthday boy?” he asked, looking around.  
“He’s helping your mother in the kitchen.”  
Scorpius raised his eyebrows, it was unwritten law in their family, that on the children’s birthdays, they were released from their usual chores.  
Draco shrugged his shoulders. “It’s his own fault, he offered to help.” He explained.  
Scorpius shook his head. “Well, I’m afraid again not a Slytherin.” He said a bit mockingly.  
Draco smirked, “No, not a Slytherin,” he agreed, “he has not the slightest sense of self-preservation. But I can’t see him in Gryffindor either. I think it will be Ravenclaw.”  
“Hmm, I think so too.” Scorpius nodded.  
“But I wonder if Hufflepuff wouldn’t be better for him. Less pressure.” Draco said thoughtfully.  
Scorpius starred at him, mouth hanging open, “What? I remember when I was sorted into Gryffindor your exact words were: At least it’s not Hufflepuff. Who are you and what have you done to my father?!”  
Draco smiled somewhat tiredly, “Your father came to the realization, that the most important thing is, that his boys are happy. Prestige is marginal. I’m just worried that he will overwork himself when he is encouraged to do so. You know what he’s like.”  
“You worry too much, he’ll be fine.” Scorpius tried to ease his fathers mind.  
“Yeah, you’re right. I do worry too much.” Draco sighed.  
He turned his head to the other side, where his granddaughter twitched at his robes. He picked her up and sat her on his lap, brushing the sand off of her hands.  
“What do you want sweetheart?” he asked gently.  
She looked at him, with her grey eyes that looked just like his own and Scorpius, but she was not light blond like them, but had her mothers dark, curly hair and a beauty patch high on her left cheek that made her look sophisticated. She smiled at him, showing all her tiny, white milk teeth.  
“Keks.” She demanded.  
“Biscuit Mira, and you forgot the magic word.” Her father chided her softly.  
She blinked at him and smiled, “Please?” she whispered, knowing perfectly well, that her grandfather couldn’t resist her.  
Of course he reached for the biscuits and gave her one.  
“Ah, I would bet my wand, that one day, she’ll be a Slytherin. She’s a cunning one.” Scorpius smiled at his daughter lovingly.  
He rose from his chair, “I’m going to see if they need help in the kitchen. Don’t feed her to many biscuits, otherwise she wont eat properly later.” He warned.  
Draco murmured something Scorpius couldn’t quite understand but sounded a bit like ‘spoil sport’, Scorpius smiled as he walked back to the house.

The kitchen was one large battlefield, and Scorpius wondered if his little brother really was helping their mother or if he had played his part in the chaos around them.  
Corvus let out an excited cry when he spotted Scorpius and let go of his muddler, that kept on stirring the dough anyhow. Scorpius smiled at his mother, who waved her hand to greet him.  
Corvus had grown a lot and now was a lanky preteen. His eyes were sparkling and he had lost his anxious air. He waved a letter in front of Scorpius face.  
“It came! It came!” he shouted.  
Scorpius snatched the letter from his hand and read the familiar wording aloud:  
“Dear Mr. Malfoy, we are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…”  
“Congrats! It came this morning?” he asked.  
“At Breakfast. The stupid owl dropped the letter right at the cake. Mum was really mad.” Corv told him happily.  
“I swear if it that damn owl had not been out of the window so fast, I would have hexed it.” Astoria murmured.  
The doorbell rang, “This must be Will!” Corvus shouted, already halfway through the hall.  
“Don’t bring him in here, go straight into the garden.” Astoria ordered her hyperactive son.  
“Yes Mum.” He called back before he opened the door to greet his best friend. Lately the boys were inseparable, because they knew that they would go to different schools after the summer break. 

Astoria purred Scorpius and herself a cup of tea and sank into a chair.  
“Alright Mum?” Scorpius asked a bit worried, but his mother smiled at him.  
“I’m fine my dear, it’s a bit exhausting, days like this. I’m not twenty anymore.” She smiled a bit wistfully. “but on the other side, I wouldn’t want to be twenty again, I’m so much happier now, then I was back then.” She shook her head about herself.  
“Where have you left your girls?” she asked.  
“Oh, Mira is playing outside with Dad, and Elsa is still working, but she’ll come as soon as she’s done.”

Outside the boys of course were kicking a ball around, but Corvus was very carefully not to knock his nice down in the process.  
When she was born, he refused to hold her, because he was afraid he could do something that would hurt her. Only after Scorpius promised him, that he would always be present and nothing could happen he dared to touch her. Soon all three of them were playing contently in the sandbox together, although, under normal circumstances, the boys would not want to be caught dead in it.

Corvus was excited and frightened at the same time to turn eleven, because he was so torn about going to Hogwarts. Of course he was curious about the place, everyone had told him marvellous stories about, but then again, he really was afraid of leaving home and his friends.  
So the night before the departure to Hogwarts, he was turning around in his bed, not able to sleep at all. Finn, who normally slept pressed to his belly or at his feet, had hissed angrily, before he stalked away and curled up to sleep on the windowsill. All his things were packed, except for his stuffed dragon, he still slept with. He was not sure if he would take him with him or not. Probably not. He gripped the dragon tighter and stared up to the celling. The soft twinkling stars always calmed him down and he could feel, just how heavy his eyelids were. 

Draco and Astoria were awake too. Astoria was worried about Corvus leaving.  
“What if Hogwarts is the same for him, what it was for Scorpius?” she wondered.  
“Scorpius loved Hogwarts, you know that.”  
“But he got ill there, because he was bullied.” She reminded her husband.  
“This is a new generation, the war was fresher in their memories, when Scorpius went to school. Besides that, they will know that he did nothing wrong.” He tried to ease her mind.  
She looked awfully pale.  
“Don’t worry, love, our raven is strong. He has been through so much, and it didn’t break him. He will love Hogwarts. Think of all the wonderful things he’s about to learn. And if anything goes wrong, we know what to look for, we wont fail him.” His voice was soft. “Come, here Darling. Close you eyes. Everything will be fine. I promise.” 

The next day, the excitement overlaid all the other feelings of worry and fear. They all paced around, up and down the stairs, until it was finally time to leave. Astoria kept thinking aloud, that they surely had forgotten something. Finn was very offended, that he had to sit in a cage and was meowing angrily. Corv had been worried about taking him to Hogwarts, but Scorpius had reassured him, that the cat would love the school with the wide grounds and all the dark corners he could explore.  
Corvus was surprised about the teeming crowd and the noise at the platform Nine and three quarters. All sorts of people, in all sorts of clothing, children, luggage and animals, all were talking and chattering, all in a tumble. Draco had to raise his voice, to make himself heard.  
“Corvus, have a great time in your first year. If you need anything, just write us, alright?” he said, while he embraced his son.  
He nodded, his face all flustered.  
“Write us, at least twice a week!” Astoria told him.  
“Yes Mum, I will.” He promised her.  
“I’m so proud of you, my little raven. You’ll have a great time at Hogwarts.”  
“Well, little brother, have fun. But don’t get into too much mischief.” Scorpius winked at him. The last few weeks, he had told him about all the secrets passages and rooms he knew of, thanks to the Marauder’s Map.  
Corvus also said goodbye to Elsa and Mira, before he was hugged again by Astoria and Draco and with a last “We love you!”, finally shooed into the train.  
When the train slowly began to move, he stuck his head out of the window and waved over to the group of people he loved most in the world, until he could not longer see them. Finally, he pulled his head back and let himself fall back into the comfortable cushion. Something new was about to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the last chapter. I hope you liked the story. I would just love to hear your opinion about it.  
> I think I will not be quite able to leave this series alone, so if you liked it, look out for one-shots about Scorpius and Corvus/Sam, I still have some ideas I had no space for in this story. 
> 
> Thanks to all my readers and especially, to the ones writing comments, and telling me how much they were enjoying the story.  
> Thank you very much!


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